Quarantine
by gluegirl56
Summary: Having found an abandoned Section 31 research outpost Pike, Tilly, Reno, Michael and Sr. Pratts beams over to investigate. However, the outpost was abandoned for a reason; one that may prove lethal for parts of the away team.
1. The Road to Hell

**Star Trek Discovery**

Quarantine

"_We leave no one behind"_

_Summary_

_Having found an abandoned Section 31 research outpost Pike sends a team down to investigate. Bored and in need of distraction he takes the lead and invites Tilly, Reno, Michael and Sr. Pratts to join him. The outpost was abandoned for a reason, one that may prove lethal for parts of the away team. _

OOOOOO

**Chapter One **

_The Road to Hell _

Tilly hitched on a breath and started coughing, it felt like her lungs was on fire and she didn't get enough air, her eyes bulged as her oxygen-starved brain thought it was suffocating. Tears began to trickle down her cheeks as she began to panic and sank to her knees.

Then suddenly, like a protective veil, strong and comforting arms gently enveloped her and lifted her up again. Her anxiety lessened a little as she felt the freshness of his cologne and his body next to her. Tilly stopped coughing and let out a quivering breath as the attack passed. Her legs were still weak and she would have fallen had he not still been holding her upright.

"It's all right," he whispered softly in her ear. "I've got you."

Sylvia closed her eyes and allowed herself to lean against him, actually sag might have been a better word. She had dreamt of the moment where she melted in the captain's arms but this certainly wasn't one of the ways she'd pictured it. She looked like death warmed over, her cheeks flushed and hair tousled while her forehead was covered with a thin sheen of perspiration.

She mused with a sense of morbid fascination at the fact that despite their current predicament she was enjoying herself. She was no fool and she clearly remembered the looks of concern from Michael, Spock, Saru and Nhan as Doctor Culber had told them that the virus they'd picked up would eventually kill them unless a cure was found or their immune system were capable of fending off the pathogen. She gazed through the large window separating the quarantine room from the lab, expecting them to stand there again, at any second, to watch over them.

"I'm so sorry, sir," she blurted. "When I told you earlier I was happy it was just the two of us,-" she trailed off and turned to face him, looking somewhat embarrassed. "-it might have sounded like I wanted you for myself."

A dimpled smirk appeared on Pike's ghostly white lips and his eyes sparkled with amusement as he tilted his head slightly downwards to look at her closely. "I think you can drop the, sir. Actually you can drop all the formalities. Why don't you just call me Chris from now on?" he suggested.

She did a double take at him, her eyes bulging but for a completely different reason than earlier. "Capt,- I mean Chris," she stammered and brightened.

"That wasn't so hard was it?" he said softly and carefully let go of her. "Will you be able to stand on your own now?"

'I might not want to', she so desperately wanted to say but for once she managed to keep it to herself. Instead she gave him a nod.

He nodded back and watched her for a moment to make sure she didn't decide to fall flat on her face.

She waved his concern away and tried to keep her face neutral at his intense blue gaze and the concern directed at her. In an effort to try and think about something else she slowly made her way across the small room and ended up next to the observation window and pressed her forehead against the cold glass.

Chris followed her and came to stand next to her. "It's going to be okay, Tilly," he said kindly.

Sylvia glanced up at him. "I wish I had your faith," she whispered and then took a deep breath as she looked away from him and down at her hands, unable to face him. She let out a nervous chuckle. "I-, she began.

The captain looked at her.

"I guess here goes nothing," she managed. "What the heck, if we're going to die what difference does it make?"

He was frowning at her, not quite sure what she was trying to say but he patiently waited for her to continue.

"I,- don't laugh at me,-"

He couldn't help himself as a faint chuckle escaped his lips and then unintentionally gave her one of the most charming smiles she'd ever seen.

"I adore you – no – I love you," she blurted. "I think I have from the moment I first saw you."

His expression became unreadable for a moment.

Her mood sank as her courage plummeted and she desperately wanted the dimpled smile to crease his lips again. "I know it's inappropriate to say it. I know it's wrong to say such a thing but you're just so sweet, so sexy, so-" she trailed off and gently banged her forehead against the glass, not sure what else to do while condemning herself for being such an idiot.

"I don't want to hurt your feelings, Tilly," he began politely then a weary look came upon him and he wobbled ever so slightly, "but you're not the first subordinate who's had a crush on a captain. Don't worry, it'll pass."

She wanted to kick herself in the butt for being so stupid but she might as well go all the way as she'd already stuck her foot in it so to speak. "You don't understand, Chris," she said with a sigh. "I've tried to get you out of my mind,-"

Tilly stop talking in mid-sentence as she watched his knees buckle and then as his legs gave away, unable to keep him upright any longer. He crashed to the ground in a heap, his head lolling to the side, his eyes closed.

"No," she whispered desperately and scrambled over to him. She knelt next to him and shook him by his shoulders. "Chris!"

Getting no reply she felt her heartbeat thumping loudly in her chest and her pulse quickening in despair as she let go of him and heaved herself up from the floor. She reached for the intercom button on the wall and slapped it so hard it almost broke off. "Help! Please help me! Doctor Culber, Doctor Pollard, someone!" Tilly let out a quivering breath and began to sob as she let go of the button and then made her way back to where the captain lay motionless next to the window.

"Chris," she begged as she carefully placed two fingers under his chin, willing for him to have a pulse. She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw a faint rise of his chest. "You're still breathing," she deduced.

The doors swooshed open to reveal two orderlies and Doctor Culber geared up in airtight suits.

"He's alive," she whispered wearily, feeling drained and lethargic all of a sudden as the adrenaline started to leave her body. "Oh my goodness, he's still alive."

A nurse suddenly materialized at her side and gently knelt down next to her. "Doctor Culber will take care of the captain," she said kindly. "How are you feeling, Ensign Tilly?"

"Have you been listening in to our conversation?" she asked carefully.

"No," the nurse assured her softly and gently squeezed her shoulder as she finished her medical scan of her.

Tilly breathed a sigh of relief. "Then I'm hanging in there," she whispered and gave into the darkness that tugged at the edge of her vision.

OOOOOO

_To be continued _

_A/N: So sorry but inspiration hit and I had to share the beginning of this story with you before I continue with "Lethal Substance". _


	2. The Beginning of the End

**Chapter Two **

_The Beginning of the End_

_[Seventy-Two-hours earlier] _

"Sir," Detmer called over her shoulder. "Another ship just appeared behind us."

Pike glanced up from the report he was supposed to sign as the view screen switched from a bow view to a stern view.

"I see it," Michael replied confidently as her fingers flew over the console. "It's a Section 31 ship."

"It's of a smaller design," Saru observed. "It looks like a research vessel."

"That is exactly what it is," Admiral Cornwell said seriously as she walked up to Pike from behind, having exited the turbolift only seconds earlier, and came to stand by his side.

He frowned as he glanced up at her.

"There's an old abandoned research station not far from here," she filled in for him.

"Abandoned, huh?" Reno quipped as she picked up the data pads she'd come to get from tactical. "That's what we thought about the HQ as well a while back. Turned out to be a lot of fuzz going on there."

Pike couldn't help but to smirk at that. Reno was a master of her field but when it came to expressing her opinions she had a lot to learn when it came to diplomacy. But then again he secretly thanked her for it the way he thanked Tilly for being Tilly. It was a refreshing set of people he was currently commanding and it never seemed to be a dull moment.

"Somehow I don't think that's why the ship is following us," Pike mused. "Is the sphere data shielded?"

"You think Leland is onboard," Tyler stated as he crossed his arms over his chest and glanced curiously at the captain.

"No," Cornwell said darkly. "That wouldn't be possible."

"I wouldn't put anything past 'control'," Michael cautioned. "It's out to get us, to stop us in every way it can to fulfill the destiny it created for all sentient life in the galaxy."

"Extinction," Spock added flatly.

Tilly shuddered at the coldness in his neutral voice.

"Not a happy thought," Reno offered.

Pike studied it curiously for a moment. "Let's drop out of warp and see if it follows," he ordered.

"Dropping out now, sir," Detmer confirmed.

Discovery shuddered ever so slightly as she broke the barrier and entered normal space. Pike watched the view screen intently, waiting for the other ship, but nothing happened.

Saru frowned as he studied his console. "It would appear that the ship continued on its course," he stated.

"To where?" Cornwell drawled suspiciously. "There is nothing out here."

"Except for the research station," Tyler reminded the admiral.

"Wherever it's going the ship would have notified 'control' of our exact whereabouts," Pike said seriously. "I suppose it was only a matter of time before it had to happen."

"Captain Leland will gather his fleet of Section 31 ships and he will aim to destroy the _Discovery_," Spock reasoned. "It is the only logical course of action."

"You make it sound like we've already lost," Tilly whined dejectedly.

Spock turned toward her. "I did not. I simply explained,-"

Pike held up his hands. "Okay, people, let's focus for a moment," he said seriously. "Admiral, do you know what kind of experiment Section 31 did at their research station?"

She hesitated, knowing Pike wouldn't like the revelation. "Situated at the border of known space _Beta Astra_ was used as an outpost for biological warfare," she explained.

Pike pursed his lips into a thin line of displeasure. "And Starfleet would deny its very existence," he drawled sarcastically. "Because Starfleet doesn't indulge in such activities."

"I don't like it any more than you do, Chris, but sometimes it's necessary to dirty your hands in wartimes," the admiral reasoned. "Sometimes it's the only way to survive."

Pike turned to her and leveled his blue eyes with hers. "You're right, Kat, I don't like it," he said simply.

"You said it was abandoned?" Michael asked quizzically. "But there are means to tap into Section 31's grid from there even though no one is around?"

Cornwell nodded and stiffened as she understood what Burnham was getting at. "You think 'control' is hiding there," she deduced.

"I have to agree with Commander Burnham," Spock said. "It is a likely possibility that it has uploaded itself to a node where no one would look for it."

"I disagree," Tyler argued. "Look, I saw it myself. It's in Leland's body and it's adapting for every hour, every _second_ that goes by."

"Should I set a course, sir?" Detmer asked, her hands poised over the controls.

Pike turned to Cornwell. "You didn't say why it was abandoned," he stated.

"I am sorry, Chris. There are some things not even I know about when it comes to Section 31," she said sadly.

"The only ones who knew are long dead," Spock deadpanned.

Pike briefly looked away, his eyes seemingly locked on a spot on the grey floor. However, the rest of the bridge crew all knew what he was thinking about because they did the same. They all saw before them the horrible images sent from Section 31's headquarters of the poor, dead and frozen souls who'd once lead the secret organization.

The tension in the room fell heavy on the team and Pike felt it was almost palpable for a moment. He sighed, shook his head sadly and straightened in his chair as he pushed the intercom button. "This is the captain. I want all senior officers in my ready room in ten minutes," he said.

Cornwell nodded at him as he rose from his chair, ready to leave the bridge. "I'll follow your lead," she said, giving him her full support.

OOOOOO

"Biological warfare?" Doctor Culber echoed skeptically. It was very clear by the way he said it that he didn't like what he was hearing.

Admiral Cornwell leaned forward in her chair next to Captain Pike and stared at the doctor from across the table, her hand clasped together in front of her. "That's exactly what I said," she replied.

Culber sighed and shook his head. "What kind of biological warfare are we talking about here? Is it bacteria, virus, toxins, fungi,-" he trailed off dejectedly. "Without knowing what they did there is no way to prepare for the visit."

"There is another danger that might present itself here," Stamets cautioned as he glanced at his partner. "We carry spores onboard the _Discovery_. If they were to be infected or infested by something we have no way of getting back to safe Federation space, nor can we communicate with Starfleet."

"Should it come to that," Cornwell reasoned as she fixed him with an icy look, "-it would take _Discovery_ two months at maximum warp to reach the rim of the Sol-system. Starfleet can be reached within a week."

Pike made a face for a moment and glanced around the table.

"Captain, I'd say it's worth the risk of exposure," Michael reasoned. "If 'control' is hiding at _Beta Astra_ we might be able to stop it once and for all."

"It's Leland we need to stop," Tyler protested. "Leland is 'control'."

"If 'control' can be infected through this abandoned research station we have a chance to slow it down," Spock reasoned.

"It will only make it more rattled and determined to kill us," Reno muttered. "It's like swatting a yellow jacket. Kill it and there is ten more trying to sting you as a reward."

Pike turned to Cornwell with a frown. "I take it that the _Enterprise_ has been released from space dock and is now performing the final tests before her recertification?" he asked.

She nodded.

Pike got a smug smile on his lips. "That means that even if we lose our means of travel we can still reach Starfleet by ways of communication," he said proudly.

"The captain is correct," Spock broke into the conversation. "The flagship is equipped with the state of the art communications array because of the nature of her mission. We are capable of broadcasting and receive deep space messages over several light-years."

"Cool," Tilly blurted with a smile. "That would give you means to spy on the Klingons without them even realizing you were there."

Pike eyed her wearily.

"I mean technically you could," she added. "But you won't. I mean Starfleet wouldn't do such a thing. Of course not, silly me."

"But Section 31 would," Tyler said enigmatically. Also, they have managed to replicate the Klingon cloaking device on a few of their ships."

"You know," Reno began cunningly as she chewed on her bubblegum, "My money is on nanotechnology, nanobots; something sinister that rewrites DNA, maybe even unravels it."

"That's not new," Michael argued.

"No, but it has certainly proven effective. So effective that any kind of research in that field was prohibited several decades ago," Reno replied.

"Commander Stamets," Pike ordered. "Set a course for _Beta Astra_. Section 31 knows where we are, we don't have time for warp. We need to jump in and jump out as soon as we're done."

Paul nodded. "Yes, captain. Give me a few minutes to orient myself in the system and we'll be on our way."

Pike watched the commander leave the room before he took time to look at each person who was seated at the table individually for a moment. His voice was serious, even grave, as he spoke up. "We are running out of time; have been for the last few weeks. If we can slow down 'control' here and now and buy ourselves some more time, we'll do so. I'll take the lead,-"

"Chris," Cornwell interrupted disapprovingly, uncharacteristically using his first name during a mission briefing.

Their eyes met for a moment and enough time past to let Pike know that the admiral disapproved of his choice both professionally and as a friend. However, he refused to give in. He would not lead people to their death remotely, not if he could help it. He hadn't, and would never ask of his crew to do something he didn't dare to do himself.

"I'll take a team with me consisting of Commander Burnham, Commander Reno and Ensign Tilly," he said stubbornly as he dared a somewhat defiant look at his superior officer. Technically the admiral could order him to stand down, actually, even his first officer and CMO could if they thought it would be potentially harmful or lethal to the officer in charge.

"I don't like this," the Kelpien said seriously, his blue eyes directed solely on his captain.

"Neither do I-," Culber began to protest.

Pike turned to him. "I will not sacrifice people under my command to save my own skin," he deadpanned in a tone of voice that sounded harsh and out of character.

"Then let me come with you," Hugh reasoned. "If something happens you'll need a seasoned medical officer close by."

Pike shook his head. "If something happens we'd be dead anyway and besides your services might be needed onboard the _Discovery_ if something comes onboard," he countered.

"You're not leaving without qualified medical personal," Culber insisted. "If I can't come, then at least take Sr. Pratts with you. She's well versed in biological warfare, she used to study it up close at the Academy before she decided she wanted to try something else and embark on a ship."

"A reasonable precaution," Cornwell agreed.

Pike wisely hid his reservations. If she used to study biological warfare, she'd be the perfect coordination officer onboard the ship should something happen. That way her life could be spared and probably a lot of the others as well.

"We'll gear up and meet in the transporter room in fifteen minutes," Pike ordered.

OOOOOO

_To be continued _


	3. The Lost Souls

**Chapter Three **

_The Lost Souls _

Pike blinked in the absolute darkness as the illumination from the transporter disappeared. He reached out for the switch on the sleeve of his airtight suit to activate his flashlight. It seemed Burnham and Reno had the same idea as several lights flashed on almost simultaneously.

They nodded gravely at each other as Sr. Pratts fumbled with a tricorder and Ensign Tilly made her way over to the door. She waved her hand in front of it, a frown appearing behind the faceplate as nothing happened.

"I'll give you a hand with that," Reno suggested and made her way over to Tilly.

"The readings indicate the air is breathable, a bit stale perhaps, but breathable," Burnham offered as she summarized the readings on her tricorder for the rest of the team.

Pike walked off the transporter pad and moved up to the transporter console in order to try and see the last beam out and try to correlate information with _Discovery_. He smirked as the console remained unlit and unresponsive then turned to look at Burnham. "Let's keep the suits on until-,"

"_Discovery to away team,"_ Cornwell's voice came over the channel loud and clear.

The captain hit a switch on his suit to respond. "Pike here."

"_How does it look?"_ Kat asked curiously.

"Dark actually," Pike returned. "The place appears to be in a complete lockdown. We can't seem to leave the transporter room."

"_Could it be some kind of trick,"_ Saru spoke up seriously. _"We had no trouble beaming you inside."_

"_Captain,"_ Spock stated. _"I would advise caution. A general lockdown to any system would indicate danger in some form; to you or to the station itself."_

Pike whirled around as the door suddenly whooshed open behind him.

"Voila," Reno said cockily as she let go of the wires to the door panel she'd just short-circuited.

"Great," Tilly said excitingly and reached up with her hand to do a high-five.

"I_ do_ know how to force a door, honey," the older woman replied smartly as returned the high-five gesture.

"Sr. Pratts. Have you found anything in your scans?" Pike asked curiously.

The younger woman shook her head. "No, nothing that would indicate a pathogen, bacteria or virus of some kind," she replied seriously. "However, that doesn't mean we're safe. I am transferring the data to Doctor Culber so that the medical science lab can run a double-check."

The captain nodded grimly. "Noted," he said and glanced around the room to address the team. "We'll keep our suits on for now to reduce unnecessary exposure."

They nodded at him and Pike nodded back before he addressed the ship again. "_Discovery_, we're going in," he informed. "We'll report back at regular intervals of two hours."

"_Understood. Discovery out,"_ Cornwell replied. She turned to the doctor who'd taken up position next to her left, at Commander Burnham's station.

Culber nodded at her with a satisfied half-smile. "The data is coming in now," he reported. "So far everything is looking good."

Cornwell pursed her lips into a thin line of displeasure at the jovial tone of the doctor's voice and shuddered involuntarily. "Section 31 doesn't leave a place without a good reason, doctor," she cautioned.

"Admiral, I am curious," Spock began and raised an eyebrow in true Vulcan fashion. "Has it been confirmed that whoever worked at Beta Astra did leave?"

"Would you care to elaborate about that thought?" Saru asked.

"As I told the captain; the lockdown mode indicates that something happened beyond the control of Section 31's scientific team. The mode was not necessarily put there manually. It might be the system itself that created the lockdown."

"Don't mention the word 'control'," Tyler complained sourly. "There are so many bad memories."

"Why would the station execute such a drastic measure?" Cornwell asked curiously as she crossed her arms over her chest, looking from Spock to Saru to Tyler and then back again.

"Perhaps it was to prevent an infection or pathogen, or whatever was created there, to spread uncontrollably," Saru guessed.

"Unlikely commander," Spock reasoned. "If the scientists themselves became infected and in turn infectious to others, Section 31 would have benefitted from it in some way."

"You're assuming it went according to plan," Tyler argued. "What if it mutated?"

Detmer grimaced as she adjusted the helm control slightly to compensate for drift. "You're freaking me out. You're making it sound like some bad horror movie story."

"Manipulation of natural things, even if it's just a strain of bacteria, can create a disaster," Owo said with a smirk as she turned to her nearest colleague. "That's what my father used to say."

"Sounds like he was a bright man," Culber mused.

"Shying away from technology might also be a dangerous thing," Owo let on sadly. "Nature can also be without mercy."

"Let's hope, for the away team's sake, that _Beta Astra_ was abandoned because Section 31 had no use for it anymore," Kat said as she narrowed her eyes and gazed at the station through the view screen.

OOOOOO

Reno grimaced behind her facemask as she shone the light into the darkness of the unlit corridor outside the transporter room. "No welcoming committee?" she drawled.

"This is creepy," Tilly began, "It's like that movie in which all of the scientists have mutated into zombies and zeroes in on the away team to attack."

"You better be on your toes then, ensign," Pike spoke up with a faint upward curl to his lips.

Michael tapped away at her scanning device and frowned in confusion. "I am reading nothing whatsoever; no life signs, no spores, no biological residue of any kind. It's like no living thing has ever set foot here."

"Ever heard of a biological wipe?" Reno hollered over her shoulder as she was in the lead. "It's a nasty thing and it takes a lot of effort too but I wouldn't put it past Section 31."

Tilly shook her head and shuddered at the thought of the crew being incinerated.

"It would make sense," Michael concurred. "If something did go wrong with the experiments that they ran here, everything would die at such temperatures."

"And there would have been scorch marks on the metal," Pike pointed out."

"The captain is right," Sr Pratts said as she joined the discussion. "The reason our scans reveal nothing is not because of a biological wipe."

"I am sorry to disappoint you, Ensign Tilly-," Pike began apologetically with a dimpled smile, -"but I don't think you'll get to see any zombies around here anytime soon."

"I am relieved, sir," she replied softly.

"Let's split up," he suggested. "I'll take a look at the command central. Burnham, I want you and Tilly to head down a few decks and search the main hangar bay. Reno, go back the way we came and try to hack the transporter logs; see if we can deduce if anyone left that way and if so when they left. Sr. Pratts, head down to the small infirmary and adjoining labs and see what you can find."

Tilly harrumphed. "Should you go on your own, sir?" she asked, her voice tinted with concern.

Pike turned to her, slightly amused. "Everyone will head in separate ways, ensign except you and Burnham. There is a reason for that too. The main hangar bay is vast and will be tedious and take over an hour to go through for one person."

Tilly opened her mouth to say something but the captain beat her to it. "I am curious, was there any special reason as to why you think I'd be unable to reach the command deck alone?"

"No," she assured him quickly. "No, of course not. I mean I was just-," she trailed off, then hastily added. "It's just that there should be an escort, like a security officer, present when the commanding officer heads into a possibly hostile unknown environment. Nhan was pretty adamant about that during our CPT class a few days ago."

"Protocol also states that it's the captain's prerogative to decide when that security officer is deemed necessary," Michael offered kindly. "I would agree with the captain that this station offers no dangerous surprises to us; at least not in the sense of other human life."

Reno began to make her way down the corridor before she stopped and turned around and nod at Tilly. "If I meet any zombies; is there anything special you want me to say to them?" she drawled.

OOOOOO

"Hi there," Tracy Pollard said kindly as she walked up behind her superior officer.

Culber sighed and straightened in his chair behind the microscopic scanner and began to work the kinks out of his back. "Don't get me wrong; I am relieved we haven't found anything but-," he shook his head and trailed off.

"But that's the thing isn't it?" she replied as she glanced over his shoulder and into the nanoscope and the lack of data on the screen above it. "There is always something there, a residue of some kind. It's never nothing."

"Makes me even more curious as to what they did here," Culber mused darkly. "And why they left."

OOOOOO

Captain Pike cursed under his breath as he was denied entry to the command center a third time. The airtight gloves connected to the rest of the suit was way to clumsy to work with for him to be able to pull out the cables behind the panel and hot-wire it. While he did have the skills, he wasn't an engineering genius like Reno. Pike pulled out the wiring, connected his scanner to it, ran a secure program that decrypted an infinite number of combinations per millisecond and cut the circuit. The panel blacked out for an instant and then lit up again as another circuit activated as a backup. At the same time several digits began to flash red on his scanner so he reconnected the wires of the broken primary circuit, punched in the numbers in sequence and waited.

Nothing happened.

Pike smirked and was about to try again as a something started humming on the other side of the door. He aimed his phaser as the door slid open before him to reveal a semi-dark room filled to the brink with various kinds of equipment. He rushed through the opening and made it just in time before it closed again; leaving him locked in. Pike shone his flashlight at the door and then proceeded to let the light trace the outline of the doorframe, trying to find some kind of release mechanism. He gave up as all he could see was sleek and smooth metal.

"Computer, lights," he ordered.

"Reconfirmation code required," it stated evenly.

Pike gritted his teeth then shook his head and made his way over to the main console. He began to tap on it, to reawaken it from its slumber, as a beam suddenly appeared above him, enveloping him in a bright blue light. He gasped at the intensity and the pulsing energy that seemed to cut right through him for a moment and then, as suddenly as it appeared, it vanished into thin air. The light came on and the system stood down from lockdown.

"Biosignal detected," the computer stated. "Human male, Starfleet registry detected based on DNA scan. Pike Christopher. Rank Captain. Current assignment; Deep space mission, _USS Enterprise_."

Pike recalled Reno's words at the back of his mind. _'Nanotechnology, DNA rewrite.'_ She was definitely on to something. Starfleet didn't have the technology to scan for and match officers through their genetic makeup.

He froze and then turned around as something sparked behind him. He stared at a large screen, the size of _Discovery's_ main viewscreen, and swallowed as a familiar shape appeared out of nowhere, a face he'd once called friendly with dark brown eyes he'd once thought lively.

"Hello Chris," Leland greeted sadistically.

OOOOOO

_To be continued _


	4. Imaginary

**Chapter Four**

_Imaginary _

Jett Reno smirked as she shone her flashlight at the closed door to the transporter room. "I could have sworn I'd disconnected that," she muttered. It should have been standing ajar with the sliding doors halfway open, barely enough for the away team to squeeze through with their airtight suits.

She shrugged casually and made a face. "What the hell. I've always welcomed a challenge," she muttered under her breath and moved over to crack the panel open and hot wire the controls. However, before she could reach out, the panel came to life and the text _'access denied'_ flashed in red.

Reno found herself wondering if the biological warfare somehow could interact with the intelligent computer software run by the Federation and its allies these days. She knew neural interfaces was constantly being tested in various factories across the continents on Earth to get an advantage against any contestant on the market.

The field that had long been called IT had taken a leap forward, leaving humans behind, and it scared a lot of people. The fact that scientists had been able to produce AIs and robotic workforces to make life better for humans wasn't the topic of concern; instead it was the fact that people lost control over things in their home, at their workplace and over their lives.

The fact that androids could take people's place troubled a lot of the population but, as with every evolution, there were ups and downs. Reno, for one, was glad that technology had evolved so far that she could be relieved of the most mundane tasks her work as an engineer offered. That way she could focus on other things. Had it not been for technology she would never been able to survive and keep the others surviving on that asteroid when her ship went down a few moths before the _Discovery_ found her.

Technology was a friend of Jett; something she trusted but she wasn't a fool, technology could be good and bad just like mankind. When Section 31 had developed their threat assessment program called 'control' they had surpassed their expectations but they had also overlooked several things. No one had been ready for its speedy ability to learn, to adapt, to develop the will of survival on its own. When a machine becomes emotional and unpredictable like a human, trouble was usually brewing. Like in this case when the AI had latched onto Captain Leland, merged with him, to ensure complete access to machine and man in Section 31.

Reno had no trouble believing that the warning from the 'red angel' was real. The time she'd spent onboard the _Discovery_ had been a desperate struggle against time; against the cunning of the AI. It had become a mission to prevent something that had already happened according to Doctor Burnham; the extinction of the human species thorough the vastness of the universe. It was surreal, unapproachable for the mind to grasp, a scenario so horrible that no one really understood and right now time was running out again.

The engineer's facial expression was grim as she tapped in a series of commands on the small display. It was to no avail as the text _'access denied'_ continued to glow in red before her. "Okay," she whispered. "Have it your way."

The cunning woman quickly connected a small device to the access panel and ran a series of combinations through it, trying to match the right combination. The text blinked on and off a few times but then returned to glow even stronger, like it was gloating. The gadget in her gloved hand sparked, turned dangerously hot and then fried, eliciting a string of curses from the woman. Jett threw it on the floor in frustration and reached into the small service hatch to pull out the circuits, just like she had from the beginning when they'd first arrived, and quickly released them as electricity tickled her skin and sent her nerve ends on fire.

She stared at the panel next to the door for a moment and sighed in frustration as she tapped at her chest to open a channel. "Reno to Pike," she said and tapped again as she got no connection. "Reno to Pike. Captain are you there?"

The nothingness turned into static and then finally morphed into the voice of her superior officer. _"Having trouble…interference…happened?"_ he asked.

"I can't get back into the transporter room, that's what's happened," she replied sourly. "Its like the door is consciously preventing me. The thing is, this programming, this circuitry, shouldn't be able to do such a thing."

Static filled the open channel again and Reno had to strain her ears to make out anything of the garbled voice.

"_Leave it for now,"_ Pike said. _"Get down to the hangar bay."_

Reno nodded and was just about to confirm the order when she narrowed her eyes suspiciously and frowned. There was something that wasn't right with the captain's answer. Pike would have asked what she thought about it, asked her for suggestions. He would have proceeded to tell her what was going on at his end and probably asked her if she'd been able to contact the others.

"Is everything all right up there?" she enquired.

"_So far I have found nothing,"_ he said curtly. _"Report back to me when you've found the others." _

OOOOOO

Captain Christopher Pike forced himself to remain neutral and uncaring as the image of his old acquaintance stared back at him with an upward curl to his lips. It was the way the AI looked at him, studying him meticulously, that sent a chill down his spine.

"Leland," Pike returned casually. "What a surprise?"

The image actually laughed at that. "You came looking for me," it deadpanned.

Chris instinctively knew that had it really been Leland at the receiving end of this conversation he would have answered differently but the AI could only give an answer to Pike the way it _assumed_ Leland would have given it. The AI might be able to cross-reference archives, search genetic makeups in a database, connect to various hubs within the Section's network, but it could not read personalities and it could not know everything Leland knew about Pike and vice versa.

The captain stared back at the image on the view screen and then nonchalantly began to type on the console before him, to start a system's check. "No, Leland, I didn't come here specifically for you," he answered. "I came to find the AI connection."

The image tutted and shook its imaginary head; it was smiling now, directing a somewhat mischievous yet evil grin towards the captain. "That's one of the traits that Leland liked about you, Chris; your honesty."

Pike chose to ignore the AI as he entered a series of command and smirked as the view screen suddenly went dark. "Goodbye my old friend," he said smugly and then got back to work on the console.

"Pike to Burnham," he called. Only static met him over the open channel. Annoyed he spoke up to no one in particular. "If it's you, stop messing with the channels."

"Speaking to oneself is a sign of delusion, Chris," the AI said as it appeared in a holographic form next to him, looking like an exact copy of him.

Pike studied himself, clad in the blue and gold captain's uniform, without the airtight suit with mixed emotions of dread and fascination.

"You hate holographic images," the AI stated with a sly smirk. "You always have."

"What do you want?" Pike asked in slight annoyance, silently calculating a way to get away from his double.

The AI Pike clasped his hands behind his back and began to pace the room. "I chose between Leland and you but the intel from Section 31 turned in favor to Leland and his way of viewing the world in a much darker sense than you do."

Ignoring the troubling hologram Pike activated his com again. "Reno, this Pike, come in," he said.

"You will never succeed, Chris," the AI said smoothly. "Besides, I have already spoken with Reno on your behalf."

The captain did a double take at the AI who smiled menacingly at him from a distance.

"Sr. Pratts, this is Captain Pike," he called, refusing to give up hope of getting through to somebody.

AI Pike raised an eyebrow arrogantly and shook his head.

"What have you done to the away team?" Pike demanded angrily.

OOOOOO

Sr. Pratts let out an impolite string of words as she was denied access a third time to the computer terminals down in the infirmary. Not that she was surprised; she knew this was a Section 31 outpost and she also knew that the Section's work was covered in veils of secrecy even to their own ranks.

Being alone in a semi-dark, cold and empty room filled with medical equipment was beginning to grate on her nerves, she thought she heard things, saw things, but when she turned to look around there was no one there but her. Ensign Tilly's gibberish about zombies didn't help either, she absolutely hated horror movies, they gave her nightmares for weeks to come, if she even dared to watch one at all. She had enough on her plate in the real world with contagions, viruses, bacteria and several kinds of phobias because of it.

Pratts' assistance at the outbreak of Rigelian fever several years back still bothered her at times; the screams, the horrible rashes on the bodies, the children dying in front of her, the helplessness she'd felt then. That was _real_ horror to her; to see the swelled-up bodies of those infected, to hear their pleas for mercy as the fever-raged their bodies, boiling them from within, while the colony waited for the ship carrying the vital and only known cure – Ryetalyn. Even then, after treatment, it was too late for many of the infected.

She jerked as she thought she felt a presence behind her and turned slightly to see Pike. "My goodness, captain, you scared me," she said and let out a faint chuckle.

"_My apologies,"_ he offered kindly as he shimmered slightly. _"There is something that jams my ability to contact you through the suit. I managed to find another method in the control room."_

"Rumors has it that you dislike holograms, sir," she said with a slight tease to her gentle voice.

Pike smirked unhappily. _"That is a long and very boring story, Sr. Pratt,"_ he answered. _"Have you found anything that might be of use to us?" _

Jeannie sighed and shook her head dejectedly. "I wish I had, but it appears that, whatever data has been recorded at this place, is well encrypted and inaccessible."

The captain rolled his eyes_. "Why don't we let our master engineer lose on it and see what she can came up with,"_ he suggested and turned as if to leave the room again.

Pratts hesitated, she didn't want to be alone again, even if it was just a hologram beside her it boosted her moral and confidence. "Captain," she called sheepishly. "Do you mind keeping that on?"

For the kind and caring captain to chuckle at her request seemed out of character but she didn't give it any further thought. She was a grown woman; he might have thought she was joking.

Pike reached up to push the eject button on the seal that secured his helmet to the rest of his somewhat clumsy suit and sighed as he took a deep breath of the air in what appeared to be the control room. _"Did you get the message from Doctor Culber?"_ he asked quizzically. _"Discovery has analyzed all our data. It's safe to breathe. It might be a bit stale but its better than the recycled air in our tanks." _

Pratts smiled at that as she reached up to unclip her helmet, then grimaced as a rush of air reached her nostrils. "I see what you mean, sir," she replied with a grin.

OOOOOO

_To be continued _

_AN: Yikes - Never ever trust a hologram! Thanks for the lovely feedback - it's like a virtual kick in the butt – an inspiration for me to keep writing sooner. _


	5. Danger Zone

**Chapter Five**

_Danger zone _

"I don't like this," Nhan said as she stared at the outpost a slight distance away from the ship. "I should never have agreed to let the captain leave without security."

Cornwell turned slowly in the captain's chair to face the Barzan. "I share your concern, Nhan, but not even you can protect him and the rest of the away team from biohazards."

"Agent Tyler didn't sound too convinced when you said the place was abandoned," Nhan argued as she looked behind the Admiral to Lieutenant Spock who'd taken up position at the vacant science station.

"We are not making anything better by arguing about this," Saru reasoned kindly, trying to defuse the tension in the room.

Spock and Nhan had served with Christopher Pike for several years and had no doubt been through a lot of tight situations together. Since they had never been in the situation where the captain had turned against the crew and deceived all of them, like the _Discovery_ crew, they almost took is as an insult to stand down when actions could be taken to ensure the safety of their commanding officer. Saru had no trouble seeing why they were so loyal to Pike. The captain was a man of action, both a soldier and a diplomat, who cared deeply for his crew and often disregarded his own health and safety in favor of others.

"Commander Saru is right," Spock said, eliciting a raised eyebrow from the admiral. "It is not logical to second guess. I trust the captain to make his decisions based on facts, not assumptions, and I know for a fact that he is good at adapting to any situation and come up with a solution."

Nhan nodded, she understood perfectly well what he was saying but she would have preferred being on the away team to make sure they were all right over there. Knowing nothing wasn't doing her any good.

"May I suggest that we focus on our opportunities to stall the AI?" Spock said.

"A wise idea, Lieutenant," Cornwell agreed.

OOOOOO

Ensign Tilly shown her flashlight around the large hangar bay. "Wow, this place is huge. A lot bigger than I thought," she marveled.

Commander Burnham nodded. "It makes little sense considering that this was supposed to be a very isolated base," she replied as she followed the beam of Tilly's flashlight.

"But being this remote they must have needed supplies," Tilly spoke up and then changed subject. "Do you think Ash knows more than he lets on about this place?"

Michael's eyes darkened for a moment while her lips pursed together. "I'd like to think he's telling the truth," she replied cryptically.

"So," what are we looking for?" Tilly said, dropping the subject.

"Anything out of the ordinary," Michael reasoned in a subdued voice as she turned around to flash her light on the other side of the bay.

The ensign crinkled her nose and chuckled. "Out of the ordinary," she echoed lightly. "On a Section 31 base."

"Tilly," Michael warned.

"Okay, okay I get it," she replied seriously. "There are no supply ships here, or smaller shuttles, which makes sense considering this place should be evacuated or abandoned but what-," she trailed off in surprise as there was a low rumbling noise coming from the closed bay doors.

They shared a confused glance and then froze as a klaxon began to blare over their heads.

"The hangar bay is depressurizing!" Tilly shouted over her open communications channel.

They quickly began to rush toward the door but they didn't get more than a few meters across the large room before gravity ceased. Tilly grabbed for Burnham's arm in an effort not to get separated as they became weightless.

"Burnham to Pike," Michael shouted into her communications channel. "Captain, please respond!"

Static broke through the air but no other sound.

Tilly tried to activate her communication's device. "Tilly to Reno, please respond!" she shouted desperately as they began to drift toward the open bay doors.

"Sr. Pratts!" Michael hollered. "Can anyone hear us!"

"If you can, please, we are being sucked into space," Tilly added. "Someone, deactivate the door control in the hangar bay."

Michael shook her head dejectedly. "It's no use. We have to get out of this one on our own."

"I don't think getting _out_ will be a problem," Tilly piped up and braced herself for the impact.

While Michael stayed clear and would have tumbled straight out Tilly slammed into the wall next to the doors. She grimaced and snapped her eyes closed for a moment, then shook her head.

"Are you all right?" Michael asked in concern as she clung tightly to her crewmates leg in order to stay inside.

Tilly nodded. "Yeah, just…try to reach the panel over there. I think we can establish a level one forcefield and seal the compartment – at least temporarily."

Burnham wasted no time as she hauled herself to the wall, still using Tilly for support as not to get sucked out while being so close to the opening. She steeled herself and began to work, after a string of curses and denied entries she used one hand to reach for her pockets and small bag that was still slung over her shoulder.

Catching on to what she was trying to do, Tilly reached out with one hand; the one she wasn't using to stabilize and ground them both. "Hang tight, I'll help you," she said, her voice strained.

She grouped for the small gadget used for codebreaking and systems check. It was a multifunctional tool that usually came in handy. Tilly broke into a grin as she found it and gave it to Michael who quickly attached it to the doors command panel.

OOOOOO

"Admiral," Detmer called over her shoulder. "The bay doors just opened."

Kat frowned and nodded toward Bryce. "Can you hail the away team?"

He shook his head. "I am sorry, I can't get through the interference," he said.

"The interference from what?" Saru enquired. "There is nothing here except for us."

"It is coming from _Beta Astra_," Spock reported calmly. "And it's unlikely that the captain is jamming us, therefore it is logical to assume there is someone else present."

"Do you believe they are in danger?" Kat asked seriously.

"I cannot say, Admiral Cornwell," Spock replied. "I prefer not to make assumptions but the fact that the hangar bay doors opened might indicate that the away team is trying to escape something."

"Or something is trying to get them to leave; dead or alive," Tyler reasoned coldly.

"What are you implying, Agent Tyler," Cornwell drawled as she turned to him, her hands on her hips. "That there is still activity over there?"

He remained silent.

She took a step toward him and fixed him with a glare. "If you know something we don't, then _now _is the time to come forward," she said seriously.

Tyler pursed his lips into a thin line of displeasure at the harsh tone and shook his head. "I don't know anything about the biological warfare tests on _Beta Astra_," he replied. "But I know what Leland and/or 'control' is capable of. It should be obvious to you as well, considering what happened at HQ."

Cornwell involuntarily shuddered as she recalled the frozen remains of Admiral Patar and her stab; their corpses floating around in the cold and anaerobic environment.

"Then the away team is in danger," Saru stated. "Admiral, we must assist them."

"I am aware of that, Commander Saru, but we can't go in blind. I am not ready to sacrifice more of this crew for no reason."

"We leave no one behind," Owo said incredulously as she turned around in her seat to face the ranking officer.

"No, we give our life for each other," Detmer chimed in as she too turned around in her seat.

"Admiral it is illogical to-," Spock began.

Kat smirked as she glanced around the bridge crew. "I see Chris has been rubbing off on you," she mused. "I have no intention of leaving anyone behind, believe me, but we must find a way to retrieve them safely."

OOOOOO

Michael stared in wonder at the crackling forcefield that separated them from space. Someone or something had opened the bay doors to kill them. Had they not been geared up in their suits they would have suffocated.

"Gravity restored," the metallic voice of a woman confirmed.

Tilly grimaced as she picked herself up from the floor just inside the forcefield.

Michael rushed over to her and helped her up. "Tilly, are you all right?" she asked worriedly.

She grimaced again and blinked. "Yeah," she managed as she turned to stare out in space and saw _Discovery_ some distance away. "What just happened, its-,"

"-not possible," Michael filled in as she followed her friend's gaze.

"But there is no one here but us," Tilly protested as she went over to repressurise the compartment.

"There are two possible scenarios," Michael returned as her mode darkened. "Either there is someone here, someone from the team of scientists or there is _something_."

"You mean like 'control'?" Tilly guessed unhappily. "It can't be here. We all saw it take off on that Section 31 flagship with Captain Georgiou."

"I believe it is worse than we thought," Michael replied as she began to make her way across the room. "The adaptive and main program node of 'control' which merged with Captain Leland is onboard that ship but the program is able to reach out and sync with every subprogram that is up and running through Section 31's facilities and ships. It will only be a matter of time before it delves deep into Starfleet, the Federation and its allies; before it causes havoc to every system in its way."

"But it needs the sphere data," Tilly protested.

"To be fully functional and unstoppable, yes," Burnham concurred.

OOOOOO

"And you are certain there is nothing there?" Kat asked as she looked at the screen, standing in the middle of the infirmary.

Culber nodded and glanced at Pollard who stood nearby. "Whatever they did over there doesn't appear to be dangerous," he said.

"At least it doesn't appear to be airborne," Pollard added. "We have run every data we've received from the away team before the contact was lost through the lab – there is nothing contagious."

"At least that's something," she said wearily. "Still, I don't like that we've lost contact."

OOOOOO

_To be continued _


	6. Together Again

**Chapter Six**

_Together Again _

Reno brightened as she finally got the door to respond. "Gotcha," she remarked in satisfaction as it unlocked with a faint click. However, the two sliding door leaves didn't part to let her into the hangar bay. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously and then trailed the barely visible slot between them with her fingers until she got a small hold and began to bend it open.

Tilly and Burnham quickly gave her a hand each, from the inside, and a moment later it had been forced open.

"Wow," Reno remarked dryly as she saw the large opening behind her team mates and_ Discovery_ at some distance away. "Were you trying to leave without the rest of us?

"I don't know about this place being abandoned," Michael said darkly. "Someone opened the bay doors while we took a look around."

The engineer huffed. "Yeah, this place gives me the creeps; actually, the whole Section 31 does. I didn't even get back into the transporter room. It was like someone, or something, was deliberately blocking me," she stated.

"One other thing," Reno added seriously. "There's something off with communications. I tried contacting the captain earlier but I couldn't get through at first, then a garbled voice answered; it sounded like Pike but it was the way he answered."

"What do you mean?" Michael asked curiously. "We tried calling everyone but couldn't get through at all."

"I don't think I spoke to the captain at all," Reno deduced.

A chill went down Tilly's back at the words. "You think someone impersonated him?"

"We need to get back together," Michael stated.

"Wouldn't that make us an easier target?" Tilly asked, remembering her last tactic course.

"The CPT program is good but every situation is unique and the suggestions leaves a lot to be desired," Michael offered softly. "You need to learn to expect the unexpected and be dynamic enough to solve an ever-changing problem."

"Okay, now I'm convinced I'm not 'command material'," she mumbled.

"You can do it," Burnham offered. "You just have to believe in yourself. Now, get down to the infirmary and see if Pratts is okay. Keep your scanner up and running to make sure no one is stalking you."

"Gee, thanks," she replied. "Now I am going to be jumpy all the way."

"Watch out for the zombies," Reno hollered after her as she took off.

Michael smirked at her, admonishing the remark.

Reno just ignored it with a shrug of her shoulders. "Let's go find the captain," she suggested.

OOOOOO

Pike gasped as he was thrown to the floor, his body tingling from an electric jolt through the gloved fingers. The AI Pike laughed at him as he knelt next to him and offered the man of flesh and blood a dimpled sly grin.

Pike watched as it reached for his smoking gloved hands and involuntarily shuddered as the holographic hands went right through him.

"Much funnier than to fry all the systems at once," he let on sadistically.

"I don't know about that," the captain replied sarcastically. "Why are you here anyway?"

"Didn't you know?" the AI gloated. "It was here I was born."

They both whipped their heads around as someone started banging on the door.

AI Pike's frown morphed into a cunning smile as he got up from the floor and brushed off his blue uniform. "Sounds like the cavalry is here," he mused jovially as the previously locked and sealed door whooshed open.

"Captain," Michael exclaimed as she drew her phaser.

"What the hell," Reno remarked as she mimicked Burnham's move.

OOOOOO

"It is fortunate that we've studied the sphere archive ever since we brought it onboard," Saru pointed out as he sat down at the table in the conference room adjoining the captain's ready room. He was the last one in. The others were already seated.

"Still, the storage module contains a vast number of data," Nilsson said. "Even Airiam had trouble getting a grasp of a small portion of it."

Kat stared at the man opposite her as if trying to deduce his real intentions. "Agent Tyler, I am not sure you should be here," she said coldly, her eyes narrowed and her arms crossed over her chest.

"Are you afraid that my priorities lie elsewhere admiral?" he deadpanned. "I don't take kindly to people who wants me dead and Leland made it very clear to me that I was unwanted on his ship. If it hadn't been for Captain Pike and Doctor Pollard I wouldn't have been standing here today. Do you still think my priorities are with Section 31?"

She shrugged. "Fair enough, Tyler," Cornwell replied.

Ignoring the exchange between Tyler and Cornwell completely, Lieutenant Spock glanced around the table and pushed a button to project something from the sphere. "Doctor Burnham said she pushed the sphere archive in _Discovery's_ way so that we could protect it. That was a deliberate act on her part. However, I do not know whether or not she had other intentions as well."

"I don't understand?" Cornwell said.

Nilsson suddenly nodded, picking up on Spock's train of thought. "She claimed there is something in there that the AI needs to gain completion. What if there is something in there to help us defeat it as well?"

"If there is, it is unlikely that we find it within a few hours," Spock replied, unconsciously deflating the hopefulness that had begun to fill the room.

"Lieutenant Spock is right," Culber said softly. "Only the medical data collected by the sphere will take decades to study."

"Everyone with AI, software and computer technology as their basic field has been put to work," Saru reported. "They've even set up platforms for medical, botanical and exploratory sections as well as engineering so they can begin to study anything that might be relevant to our cause."

"And there is no way that it can backfire?" Nhan pushed skeptically. "There are no backdoors for the AI?"

"The sphere is up-linked to almost every computer onboard the ship and _Discovery_ is a sophisticated piece of machinery," Saru replied confidently. "Whenever the day comes, whenever the AI finally appear on our doorstep, it'll have to work hard to get in."

"Let's get back to our present situation," Cornwell suggested. "We believed it was possible to upload a virus to the Section 31 data node at _Beta Astra_ and buy us some time."

"It is still possible," Nilsson replied. "It is the efficiency that is questionable at the moment."

"Exactly," Stamets added as he leaned forward in his chair. "Even though our common knowledge is good, it's not great."

"You do not have to be great to achieve big things, Commander Stamets," Spock said evenly. "You cannot give up in advance, then everything will be lost."

"Wise words," Saru concurred.

"They are courtesy of Captain Pike," Spock replied.

"Speaking of the captain," Kat said seriously. "The away team has failed to report back on several occasions. We have been unable to establish contact with them nor have we been able to transport someone else to _Beta Astra_. The bay doors to hangar deck appears to have closed and cannot be opened from outside without help from the inside."

"We can try sending a shuttle over there and work on the door controls, hopefully they'll see us," Nhan suggested.

"How do we know its safe?" Stamets asked curiously.

"We didn't pick up anything dangerous in the data transfer before communications and the feed was lost," Culber reasoned. "However, as with any bacteria or virus there are different incubation periods. If we're to take precautions and wait, even though there is nothing that indicates that something lies dormant over there to wait for a host, the air supply would run out since we can't beam new tubes in to the team."

"Keep working with the communication and the transporter access," Cornwell ordered. "Continue to run simulations and set up the software virus but keep it a lower priority than the away team. This was a wild ghost chase anyway."

OOOOOO

"Captain! Are you all right?" Burnham shouted as she rushed over to him, ignoring the AI Pike.

He grimaced and took her outstretched hand, they both grimaced as she pulled him up.

"Thanks," Pike said sincerely. "I can't feel my fingers."

Michael gently took one of his burned gloves into her shiny white ones and studied it closely. "I don't think the suit is broken but its severely damaged. You're lucky you weren't electrocuted," she said seriously.

The captain waved her concern away. "What about you? Are you okay? Tilly and Pratts?" he asked.

"I received one of those lovely jolts earlier but it wasn't nearly as powerful as the one you took," Reno piped up from where she'd taken up position, next to the main console, trying to get it up and running.

"The forces are gathering," the AI Pike said with a sly smirk as he shimmered.

"That is slightly disturbing," the captain quipped as he cast an eye at his double.

"I think I had the honor of talking to him earlier." Reno replied as she had some luck with the console. "He'll be gone in a moment."

"Yeah?" Pike asked sarcastically. "I deleted him once before but he has this annoying ability to show up again when you least expect it."

Something sparked above them and the lights went out, a klaxon turned on and the room was cascaded in a red glow.

The away team turned on their flashlights again.

"What's happening?" Michael asked.

Pike quickly moved over to another console, typing away, grimacing in pain as he did so. "Life support just went offline."

Reno stabbed a finger on the console before her and the room lit up again. The AI Pike shimmered out of existence and the klaxon was turned off.

"_System restored,"_ a female metallic voice reported.

They all breathed a sigh of relief.

"_Tilly to Pike!"_ the ensign's voice appeared worried and rushed as it came loud and clear over the now open communication's channel.

"Pike here," he said quickly. "Report."

"_Captain, is it really you?"_ she said, sounding relieved._ "I've tried calling all of you. You'd better get down here. Something is wrong with Pratts." _

OOOOOO

To be continued


	7. Biohazard

**Chapter Seven**

_Biohazard_

Jeannie Pratts tried to rise from the chair but her body wouldn't respond to her command's any longer. There was this strange tingling sensation in her arms and legs that made no sense and her ears kept ringing for no reason. A sharp pain manifested itself in the center of her chest and spread like a wildflower through her system. It felt like acid was flowing in her veins and she screamed in agony as she crashed to the ground.

Tilly looked helplessly at the other woman. "Oh, my goodness," she exclaimed as she rushed over and knelt down next to Pratts and turned her on her back. She jerked backwards as she saw the wild look in Pratts' eyes and glanced up as the others rushed into the room. The young ensign stared at Pike with wide eyes, unsure of what to do.

The captain quickly made his way over and knelt down by the nurse's other side. "Sister Pratts," he called softly.

The woman stared unseeingly at him for a moment, her eyes glazed and unfocussed, then she made a feeble attempt to pick herself up from the floor but she was so weak that all she succeeded with was to move ever so slightly to the right and moan.

Tilly looked from the nurse to the captain sadly. "She's burning up," she said in amazement.

Pike pursed his lips into a thin line of displeasure. "Jeannie, why did you take off your suit?" he asked kindly.

She opened her eyes to look at him, confusion and pain written all over her face. "You-," she swallowed, "-told me it was safe."

"_Discovery to away team, Captain Pike please respond,"_ Saru's voice came loud and clear over the open channel.

"Discovery, this is Commander Burnham," Michael said as she distractingly glanced at Pike and Tilly hovering over the nurse and biohazard specialist who seemed to be convulsing on the floor. "We have a medical emergency. Can you beam us out?"

The straightforwardness and seriousness in the commander's voice silenced the entire bridge crew momentarily.

Rhys and Bryce shared a worried glance across the room while Detmer and Owosekun shook their heads in denial. Spock, Stamets and Nilsson stopped what they were doing at the small science compartment next to the bridge, having heard the transmission over the PA-system connecting the two rooms. Cornwell unconsciously tightened her grip around the armrests of the captain's chair while Pollard's fingers flew over the science station's console, temporarily used for medical science.

Before the admiral or the XO could answer, another voice carried over the channel. _"Discovery, this is Captain Pike. I need a status report. Is it safe or even doable to beam Sr. Pratts back to Discovery?"_

Having years of experience Cornwell found her voice first. "Captain, it's good to hear your voice," she said, trying to keep her relief hidden; Nurse Pratts's life was worth just as much as Chris's. "We've been trying to get in touch with you for hours – what is going on over there?"

"Later," Pike replied uncharacteristically serious, his voice cold. "Pratts have been infected by something, she's convulsing, her heartbeat is rushed, her breathing shallow and her system is shutting down. She needs immediate medical attention."

"_Captain,"_ Tracy said seriously. "This is Doctor Pollard. I can only help you over distance right now. I'll let Admiral Cornwell fill you in later. You have to find Nurse Pratts' bag. It contains an EpiPen-,"

Pike looked at Burnham and rose from his position next to the convulsing woman to begin the search.

Reno found it almost immediately in the back of the room, grabbed it and rushed over with it. Pike rummaged through its content as Pollard was giving instructions over the open communications channel.

"We have it!" Pike reported.

"_Good, now inject it's content in the thigh,"_ Pollard instructed. _"When it's-."_

"No," Tilly spoke up as the voice of the doctor became garbled until it was unrecognizable.

"Damn," Reno muttered and shook her head. "That program is smarter than I gave it credit for. I thought I'd taken it offline permanently. It keeps rewriting itself to be able to reboot."

OOOOOO

"Communications have been lost," Bryce reported.

"Get them back!" Cornwell ordered.

Bryce shook his head dejectedly. "I am sorry, I can't."

"_Bridge, this is sickbay,"_ Culber called, having been listening on the live feed from the bridge. _"I'm volunteering to go over there using a shuttle." _

"The computer virus is far from ready," Cornwell reasoned. "I am not sending you over there alone. Besides, I won't risk your life when I-,"

"_With all due respect, Admiral Cornwell,"_ he interrupted seriously. _"I want to risk my life if I can save the others. I am a doctor, remember?" _

"And I will be escorting him," Nhan stated, her mind made up and unchangeable.

Cornwell shook her head.

"It might be hard decision for you to make, ma'am, but it is not hard for me or Doctor Culber," the head of security reasoned.

Kat sighed. "Go," she said finally with a nod.

OOOOOO

Reno hung her head as Pratts' eyes rolled up and glazed over one last time before her body stopped convulsing and stayed still, death was coming upon her and there was nothing they could do to help her.

"No, no, no," Tilly repeated as she steadied the other woman's head in her lap. "Please," she begged.

Pike clenched his jaw, his blue eyes hardening as he wasn't ready to lose yet another member of his crew. He never wanted her to come, still he felt responsible for her death, for sending her to eternity.

As if sensing his guilt, Michael gently placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly. "Captain, there was nothing you could do," she whispered kindly.

He sighed. "I know that," he replied darkly. "It doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Captain," Tilly spoke up suddenly with a frown. "What did she mean when she told us you said it was safe?"

"The AI," Reno deduced. "It tricked her somehow into believing it was you," she said and nodded to Pike.

"_Warning, oxygen deprivation imminent,"_ a small voice spoke up in Tilly's earbuds. Confused she kindly let go of Pratts' head and reached up to tap at her small display situated on the left arm of the airtight suit.

"Tilly?" Michael called, slightly alarmed.

The ensign swallowed; her mouth suddenly dry. "I've been compromised." In pure desperation she reached out for Pratts' half-filled tubes but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. Tilly looked up only to stare into the deep blue eyes of her captain.

He shook his head. "If it's airborne, it's in her airflow," he reasoned kindly.

Tilly's lower lip quivered for a moment, then something sparked in her and she reached up to unclip her helmet. The rush of stale air against her face was both horrendous and wonderful at the same time, it saved her from suffocating to death but she knew the respite was temporary; she knew because she'd seen Pratts' last moment in life.

"I must have damaged my suit when I was slammed against that stupid wall," she offered to the gloomy faces around her.

"If it is to any consolation my tanks are almost depleted too," the captain said kindly as he reached out to give her a hand up.

"And when had you planned to tell the rest of us?" Michael admonished.

"When it was necessary to do so," he replied simply, his voice soft and kind, defusing the harshness and anger in Burnham's. "I saw no reason to trouble the rest of you."

Michael was both in awe and angered by his unselfishness. She grabbed his gloved left hand and ran a tricorder over it. She must have missed something earlier. The gadget beeped loudly as it recorded injury.

"It burned through the suit," he explained unnecessarily as he turned his hand so that the palm of it was up and then curled his fingers slightly to look at the blackened fingertips.

"Damn you," Michael whispered coldly.

Pike broke into a dimpled grin. "Are you talking to me or AI Pike?" he asked somewhat amused.

She couldn't help but to smirk at him. "I am not sure; I think it's both of you, but for entirely different reasons," she replied then her lips curled upwards and her voice softened. "I am sorry for the insubordination, sir."

"There is a lot of static on my communication's channel right now," he said lightly. It was his way of letting her know that he was fine with it. "Ensign Tilly, are you okay?"

She nodded and forced a smile. "Yeah, it just feels strange being out of the suit and seeing you all dressed up."

Pike nodded slyly and reached up to unclip his helmet. "I'll join you."

Reno silently made her way over to Pratts and gently placed Tilly's gloves under her head. She brushed away a strain of hair that lay plastered to the woman's check and gave her a sad smile. "May you rest in peace, honey," she whispered.

"We can't take her with us, can we?" Tilly asked.

"I am not leaving anyone behind; not if I can prevent it," Pike replied seriously. "Now, I think it's time that we took a proper tour around this place and see what we can find."

OOOOOO

"You know, I completely understand Admiral Cornwell's reasoning," Hugh said softly as he popped his head into the back of the shuttle and then proceeded to walk onto the lowered ramp in _Discovery's_ hangar bay.

Nhan pursed her lips as she performed the pre-flight check. "Do you have everything you need, doctor?" she replied curtly, never taking her eyes off the console.

"Judging by what we heard over the open channel, there's something over there that is lethal which our scanners failed to pick up," Culber said seriously as he stuffed the two medical bags in the back and sat down next to the Chief of Security. "This is a one-way-trip, and by giving us the greenlight, the admiral has signed our death sentence."

That earned him a sideway glance from the Barzan as she hit the control to close up the vehicle and start to hover. "Bridge, this shuttlepod _Phoenix_, we're ready to roll."

"_Bridge, this is Saru, we're opening the bay doors. Break a leg commander, doctor,"_ he said kindly.

"_Safe journey,"_ Cornwell added.

"We'll be back," Nhan promised. "_Phoenix _out."

Driving the shuttle through the opening she gave her colleague a faint smile. "I understand the admiral as well, Doctor Culber. It's just that we leave no one behind. I don't expect you to understand but serving onboard the _Enterprise_ while in deep space, cut off from the rest of the Federation and Starfleet, you develop some kind of sixth sense and you have to have faith in your commanding officer and crewmates or you'd all end up dead."

Hugh studied her for a moment, his lips curling slightly upwards as he nodded. "You know, I haven't served on many ships before I embarked on that brand-new ship called the_ Discovery_. I was stationed on Earth and then I ventured off into space, to a Starbase. Conditions there are sometimes hectic, sometimes dull, but the chain of command remains static. You see the station commander, report to him, then you go different ways and get on with your life until its time to report again. I guess I wasn't prepared for what I signed onto with _Discovery_, luckily I had Paul with me."

Nhan turned to him slightly amused.

He shook his head. "I guess that what I am trying to say is that up until these last few months after returning to the land of the living I'd never experienced or met a captain as dynamic, diplomatic and kind as Christopher Pike; he gives me hope in all this darkness."

"To me he's been the only authority present for five years. Trust me when I say that the _Enterprise _has had its share of losses, of adventures and crazy experiences. Besides, there are a lot of good people onboard the _Discovery_; those on the away team are four of them. We've already lost one and I am not going to let it be more casualties."

"I am with you there," Hugh said softly. "Now, how do we get in?"

Nhan gave him a confident sideway glance. "We knock."

OOOOOO

_To be continued _


	8. Who's There?

**Chapter Eight**

_Who's There?_

Michael had her phaser pointed straight ahead of her; the flashlight situated on the sleeve of her airtight suit illuminating the corridor in an eerie glow. Pike, dressed in his blue and golden captain's uniform only, was walking close by her with a small data tablet in hand that revealed the schematics of the station. Tilly came next, also dressed in her blue uniform only, she carried a tricorder busying herself with the task of taking readings of their surroundings; air quality, degree of degradation, humidity, spores and so on. Reno was bringing up the rear so that those without an airtight suit was well protected between her and Burnham.

Pike had not been happy when Burnham had pointed out that not only where they exposed to whatever strain of bacteria or toxin that killed Pratts but to the wicked AI who'd regained control of parts of the station and also the life-support. That was the main reason they were now heading back to the hangar bay so they could collect a few small extra tubes of air to use as a last resort if the AI gave them trouble.

"I am not sure how long it takes for the program to regain access to the bay," Reno said cautiously. "We're an easy target."

Michael pursed her lips into a thin line of displeasure and suddenly knelt to disconnect a small backup tank from her supply. She stood up again and handed it to her superior officer. "With all due respect, sir, you and Tilly need to stay here."

Chris nodded grimly as he took the canister from her gloved hand. "Understood," he said. "Stay safe."

Reno and Burnham nodded simultaneously and walked through the doors without trouble. As it slid shut behind them Tilly suddenly shuddered and began to hug herself, rubbing the back of her arms.

Pike gave her a troubled look, concern written all over his face. "Are you cold, Tilly?" he asked kindly.

She bravely straightened and let her arms fall to her sides. "I am fine, no worries," she said, forcing a faint smile to her lips.

"White lies won't help I am afraid," he replied seriously and took the tricorder from her hand to run it over her.

"I didn't know you had a medical degree, sir?" she said, trying to lighten the mood.

He chuckled. "I don't, but you don't need to tell anyone."

She closed her eyes briefly as she heard the faint beeping from the tricorder, knowing all too well what was awaiting her. What she didn't know was how long she had left. "You know-," she began, in an effort to focus on something else, "-when I accidentally displayed parts of your file to the bridge crew-, I am really sorry for that by the way, I still don't know how it happened but I promise I won't do it again-,"

He flashed a faint dimpled smile at her.

She opened her eyes just in time to see it. "Point is. I noticed something peculiar."

"Apart from my F?" he asked half-amused, half-troubled by the signs of deterioration of her health.

"You had the Rigelian fever," she stated.

He nodded grimly as he put down the tricorder. "I don't think now is a good idea to reminiscing that experience," he reasoned.

"But it's a deadly disease and you survived," she persisted. "Then there is hope to get out of this one too."

He snorted as an enigmatic sly smile crept over his face and when he did, she couldn't help but to notice the thin sheen of perspiration that had begun to coat his forehead.

"Here's the deal. If you're still interested, I'll tell you all about it when we get back to _Discovery_," he offered and brought out his data tablet again to call up the schematics of the station. "Let's get you down to the infirmary and see if we can stop this."

"You want to prolong my suffering?" she quipped as he gently draped her hand over his shoulder.

"Lean on me," he said kindly as he activated his communications' device. "Burnham, this is Pike. Tilly has begun to show symptoms of whatever it is that lurks here. I am taking her to the infirmary."

"_Understood, captain. Reno and I'll join you as soon as we can,"_ Michael replied seriously.

"Make reestablishing contact with_ Discovery_ top-priority," he ordered.

OOOOOO

"_I repeat, this is the Phoenix. We need your assistance to get in,"_ Nhan called.

Culber glanced out the window, troubled by the fact that no one was responding their hails. They had reestablished contact for a while when they'd learned of Pratts's demise. "I thought communications would be restored as we got closer," he said.

Nhan shook her head. "Something was very wrong," she replied.

"Apart from one of my staff dying?" Culber asked sarcastically and then threw up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I am sorry, commander. I didn't mean-,"

"It was the tension in the captain's voice. Pike rarely-," she trailed off as something blazed across the viewscreen. "What the hell?"

"They're firing!" Culber yelled. "That was a small distance countermeasure torpedo!"

Nhan nodded grimly. "Strap in!" she shouted and veered hard to starboard. "_Phoenix_ to _Discovery_, we require immediate support!

"_Discovery here,"_ Cornwell said seriously. _"We have your six." _

Nhan ducked involuntarily as phasers cut through the space above them, directed at the enemy fire. A forcefield shimmered for a moment, then came a puff of smoke and suddenly a part of the hull came lose, exposing a smaller section of the lower compartment next to the hangar bay to the cold vacuum of space.

OOOOOO

"I said disable, not disintegrate, Agent Tyler," Cornwell admonished coldly.

Spock raised an impeccable eyebrow as he called up a magnification of the station and played a loop of the previous event. "This is quite fascinating," he remarked.

"Please, Lieutenant Spock, enlighten the rest of us," Kat said dryly.

"Commander Saru, would you please access the images on my station and project them on the main view screen," Spock said.

The Kelpien nodded.

"Take notice of the shields as the phasers hit several strategic marks," he stated as the recording played out before them. "Half the station remains unprotected and vulnerable to a direct hit. _Discovery_ did not detect the difference. It is therefore reasonable to assume that whoever is responsible for firing at Commander Nhan and Doctor Culber is in the shielded area and that the captain and the away team is unshielded down below."

Detmer swallowed and glanced at Owo who looked similarly stricken by the suggestion.

"Is that your polite way of accusing me of trying to kill our people?" Tyler pushed unhappily.

"Gentlemen, this is not the time nor the place," Cornwell cautioned and nodded at Bryce. "Open a channel to _Phoenix_.

He nodded. "Yes ma'am."

"_Phoenix_, this is _Discovery_. Can you get in through the breach?"

"_We'll do our best,"_ Nhan reported. _"Phoenix out." _

Cornwell turned away from the view screen and nodded at Nilsson and Tyler. "How are we doing with that computer virus of ours?" she asked.

"Admiral, if I may?" Spock asked.

"Yes lieutenant," she replied.

He gestured toward the back of the room and the door to the adjoining conference room.

"Lieutenant Detmer, you have the bridge," Cornwell said steely.

"Yes ma'am. I have the bridge," the pilot confirmed confidently.

OOOOOO

Reno and Burnham stared flabbergasted at each other for a moment and then desperately got hold of something so as not to be tossed around the large bay.

"Are we firing at _Discovery_?" Michael asked in confusion. "How is that even possible?"

"It's adapting and it's breaking my barriers one at a time," Reno explained seriously. "We need to stop it. Grab the air supply canisters for the captain and Tilly and find them while I head back to the control room."

Michael nodded. "Why have_ Discovery_ moved into firing range?"

"Do you think it has established contact with our people?" the engineer asked. "Damn creepy thing."

"Whatever's happened, we better hurry," Michael reasoned. "The captain and Tilly are unprotected and Sylvia has already taken ill. There is only a matter of time before the captain also succumbs to whatever it is."

"Maybe that's the key to their survival," Reno suggested. "I mean, if the AI knows they're infected, what is the point in trying to kill someone who's already dying? Why not concentrate the efforts on those who are not infected?"

"I see your point, I just don't like the fact that you seem to have given up on them," Michael said seriously. "Go, _go_. I'll find our people."

Reno nodded and took off in a hurry.

OOOOOO

A shudder went through _Beta Astra_ as something hit the hull. Captain Pike reacted instantly to the following rumbling noise and harshly hauled the young ensign toward a bulkhead a bit further away. The lights flickered for a moment and there was a whooshing sound, then the wall a few meters down the corridor crackled forebodingly and gave away. The rush of air was deafening; the compression of air and gravity loss lethal.

Tilly whimpered as something hit the lower part of her leg and fumbled weakly for her captain's hand as he temporarily lost his grip around her middle. Pike grimaced as he took a glancing blow to the right side of his head, staggered and momentarily fell down on his knees. The air pushed venomously at them, trying to force them out. The captain desperately grabbed hold of the bulkhead with one hand and took Tilly's hand in the other. He managed to get to the other side and pulled the emergency lever. Within seconds the large steel wall slammed shut between them and the rapidly depressurizing section.

He sank to his knees, gasping for air, hands on his thigs. He forced himself to calm down, to get rid of the adrenaline and focus on taking deep breaths.

Tilly rolled over on her back with a grimace and felt a chill down her spine. She was sweating yet cold, her hands shaking. "Captain," she squeaked worriedly. "What just happened?"

He let out a few shallow breaths and gingerly turned his head to look at her. "Someone took a shot at us," he stated coldly as he slowly got to his feet and moved over to her side. "Let me see your leg."

Tilly clamped her hand down on her pantleg and offered a sheepish smile, trying be strong. "It's fine, really; just stings a bit."

Pike nodded grimly. "Another white lie, ensign?" he asked and offered her a hand up. "Come on then, we better get down to the infirmary so the others can find us."

Tilly reached out to touch Pike's bloodied hairline next to his right temple but thought better of it and settled for a look of concern. "Are you all right?"

The captain offered her a dimpled smile. "Just stings a bit," he replied.

"I love your sense of humor, sir," she replied in soft disbelief. "How do we get down to the medical section now?"

Pike glanced around and then cursed as he realized he was missing his data tablet and communication's device. "How's your memory of the layout of _Beta Astra_?" he asked.

"I-," she began. "I am afraid it's not good enough and judging by the semi-darkness around here that's not going to be our only problem."

"I know it's hard sometimes, Tilly, but stay positive. We'll find a flashlight somewhere on the way," he reasoned kindly and gently draped her arm over his shoulder for support.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled dejectedly.

"For what?" Pike replied curiously.

"For being such a baby, for being weak, for-," she trailed off and sighed then leaned heavily on him for support as a dizzy-spell caught her by surprise. "Leave me here, I am going to die anyway."

"I am not leaving you, ensign," he reasoned stubbornly and then added with a faint sly grin. "Why would you die anyway?"

She nodded as she remembered what her teacher used to say. "Always expect the unexpected, huh?"

"Let me tell you something, Tilly. I have seen the unexpected many times during my career; it might have been sticky situations at times but I've always managed to get out of them. I intend to get out of this one too."

"Not only are you a soldier, a diplomat and a strategist; you're pedagogic too," she mumbled somewhat feverishly and blushed with embarrassment as she realized she was leaning heavily on him. "Oh, my goodness, I am clinging to the flagship captain."

OOOOOO

_To be continued _


	9. Come on In

**Chapter Nine**

_Come on In _

"It's not big enough," Doctor Culber deduced grimly.

"Oh, I think we'll fit," Nhan replied with a half-amused cunning smile.

"Okay, just tell me what to do," he offered from the co-pilot's seat, his fingers hovering over the console, ready for action.

Nhan suddenly chuckled at his eagerness.

Hugh frowned as his lips curled slightly upwards at her expression. "What?" he asked curiously.

The Head of Security, who'd been following her captain from the flagship, just shook her head in amusement. "I am sorry, doc, it wasn't my intention to laugh. It's just that I compared you with good old Doctor Boyce and he'd be offended if anyone even suggested he had to learn how to fly a shuttle in one minute. He would have pointed out that he was a doctor, nothing else."

"Maybe he should think outside the box a little?" Culber suggested lightly.

Nhan didn't respond right away as she was focused on getting the _Phoenix_ into the gap in _Beta Astra's_ hull but a soon as she'd driven through and the shuttle touched the floor, she turned to him with a twinkle in her eye. "Trust me, he's got to do that every time the captain is trying to leave sickbay prematurely."

"Why do I get a feeling that happens often?" Hugh asked jovially as the shuttle's engines was powered down and the ramp lowered in the back.

The Barzan shrugged and adjusted her phaser to stun. "Come on, doc. Stay close behind me," she said.

OOOOOO

Reno burst through the door to the control room just in time to see the tail end of a shuttle sneak in through the activated view screen She smiled brightly and gently tapped at the edge of the console with her fist a few times. "Looks like the cavalry is here," she said happily and then glanced around the room. "You hear that?"

"Mockery will get you nowhere," AI Pike said causally as he shimmered into existence next to her. "But then again flattery won't do it-," the image of Captain Pike was replaced by the spitting image of Jett Reno and Pike's voice morphed into her own. "-either," the hologram finished wryly.

"You know, I agree with Pike, that_ is_ slightly disturbing," she drawled. "What the hell did you fire at?"

"Wasn't that obvious?" the hologram replied as she crossed her arms nonchalantly over her chest. "It's refreshing with feelings. When I was 'younger' I had no such things."

"You learn and adapt a little too fast for your own good, honey," the engineer said cryptically.

AI Reno broke into a malicious smirk as she neared the woman of flesh and blood. "That airtight suit of yours look ridiculously clumsy; must be warm inside too."

"Can't you just go away?" Reno replied sarcastically. "Why don't you find someone else to bug?"

"I am trying to learn the behavior of irrational and illogic beings and you're a treat to study," the AI Reno replied in the same dry and snarky voice as she'd just used.

The engineer fumed as she stabbed her finger on a button to execute a command she'd been working on. The AI shimmered and disappeared. "Thank you," she whispered and then let her fingers fly over the buttons. "Reno to_ Discovery_, do you read me?"

She waited patiently for a moment and then adjusted a few things and tried again. "_Discovery_, do you read?"

"_Discovery here, this is Saru,"_ the Kelpien said with relief. _"Commander Reno, can you tell me what is happening? Who's firing at the Phoenix?" _

"The _Phoenix_?" she echoed. "I thought it was a long shot to open up the battery and try to damage the ship. I just saw the shuttle sneak through a rather large opening in the hull."

"_Commander Reno,"_ Admiral Cornwell spoke up. _"Can you give us a status report?" _

"Certainly ma'am," she replied. "I am afraid that Jeannie Pratts is dead. We tried saving her life but-," she let the sentence hang in the air for a moment and shook her head sadly.

"_Commander Reno, this is Doctor Pollard. May I ask what happened?"_ she said.

Reno snorted. "I'll tell you one thing; You where right about the place being abandoned by Section 31," she admitted cryptically. "But they left a little something behind, something that is starting to enjoy human life a little too much."

"_Leland?"_ Tyler deduced suddenly through clenched teeth.

"No," Reno replied quickly. "Admiral Cornwell. You said that biological warfare was created at _Beta Astra_. What if I told you this is where 'control' originates from?"

Silence settled over the open communication's channel for a moment.

"_Forgive me,"_ Saru began._ "I afraid I don't understand." _

Reno shook her head. "I'm not entirely sure I do either but apparently 'control' is gaining knowledge and evolves every day. The part of the program that merged with Captain Leland is the brain so to speak but like the human body there are several hubs and joints to connect the body; to make it function as one."

"_So, you're saying that there is an active link between 'control' and Beta Astra?_" Tyler guessed. _"It's the hand getting a signal from the brain?" _

"In a matter of speaking, yes," Reno answered seriously.

"_What if we were to cut off the hand?"_ Spock suggested.

"I hate to be the one to say it but its already too late," Reno reasoned. "The Section 31 ship we encountered before we got here would have already reported our position. Captain Leland is coming here sooner or later."

Silence settled over the link again for a moment, every one knew what had to be done but no one wanted to voice it.

"You have to leave, now," Reno finally urged. "Before he zeroes in on the_ Discovery_."

"_I refuse to make you collateral damage in this,"_ Cornwell replied stubbornly.

"Damnit, admiral. Take _Discovery_ and run. I'm grateful for the second chance I was given. Its been fun but I am ready for the self-sacrificing act."

"_We have something for you, so let's not give up hope yet,"_ Saru said kindly. _"How's the rest of the away team?" _

"I don't know. You blew a hole in the station close to their position. Commander Burnham took off with a pair of spare oxygen tanks that we found in the hangar bay but internal communication has been cut off."

"_Wait just a minute,"_ Cornwell said seriously. _"Captain Pike and Ensign Tilly should have the same amount of oxygen in their original tanks as you have." _

"Yes," Reno sighed wearily. "To make a long story short, both of them have stripped out of their airtight suits."

"_Then they will be infected with whatever it is that has been laying dormant on the station,"_ Doctor Pollard pointed out.

"They had no choice doctor. It was either that or getting suffocated. The AI – the hand – as Tyler so eloquently put it, is toying with us."

"_Commander,"_ Spock said suddenly. _"Can you access the shield status from your end?"_

"Stand by lieutenant," she said and tapped a few commands. She frowned at her findings. "I have them but this can't be right?"

"_Is there a problem?"_ Cornwell asked.

"I see several unprotected areas and I am unable to restore power to those sections-," she trailed off as she called up the schematics on the screen before her and huffed. "Something interesting must have happened here. Power and shields have failed thorough the lower levels of the starboard side. It looks like some kind of shortcut. The problem seems to have originated from within but I can't access any logs."

"_Can you see what it is down there?"_ Cornwell asked curiously.

"It's a large laboratory section," Reno replied and was about to say something more when the connection suddenly disconnected and the AI Reno appeared next to her again.

"Not you again, we have to stop meeting like this," Reno whined.

OOOOOO

"I am sorry," Bryce said as shook his head. "I can't get her back."

"We got the gist of it," Cornwell reasoned darkly. "Our people are in danger, in so many ways."

The doors swooshed open to reveal Nilsson and Stamets. Paul was carrying what looked like a small bag with a jelly-like consistence that seemed to glitter in green and violet. He held it like it was the most precious thing in the world and glanced around the bridge while Nilsson went over to her ordinary station.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the first bioneural gel pack interface," he said proudly. "This little thing is capable of storing and operating faster than any isolinear circuitry and will give the resident genius over there a bit of trouble."

"Forgive me Commander Stamets for sounding ungrateful but I was under the impression that it would take days, perhaps even weeks, to work out the basics of such a thing?" Saru said.

"It was a matter of extracting all the right data from the sphere archive, make some sense of it and apply it to the only thing that would work for us as an organic enhancer," the mycologist explained patiently.

"The spores," Nilsson added.

"They are infected and ready to put into use," Stamets said proudly.

"It is indeed fascinating," Spock remarked. "Without the sphere archive this technology is not likely to have been invented for at least a hundred years."

"Considering that 'control' has gotten a head start from its counterpart from the future I am not sure its enough," Cornwell reminded him.

"I think it'll keep the freaky thing busy for a while," Tyler said. "How do we distribute our Trojan Horse to its unknowing host?"

OOOOOO

Tilly whimpered slightly and leaned heavy on her captain for a moment, the embarrassment she'd felt earlier forgotten and replaced by a stubbornness she didn't know she possessed.

Pike grimaced as her weight pulled on his side and strained his muscles. Normally the captain would have had no trouble keeping the young woman upright but this situation was far from normal and he knew that it would only be a matter of time before his symptoms got worse as well. He hitched on a breath and forced down a cough as he felt his chest constrict, he didn't know if it was from the bruised and probably cracked ribs he'd received while trying to save both of them from being spaced earlier or if it was symptoms of some kind of biological warfare agent. Come to think about it he didn't really want to know, his head was hurting enough already after the blow he'd taken.

He'd always prided himself with good memory and of having the ability to be levelheaded in a crisis but he hadn't studied the schematics of the station long enough to memorize the layout properly. He was afraid that he'd headed in the wrong direction at the last two junctions but forced himself to press on anyway.

"Do you feel that?" Tilly suddenly asked in a subdued voice.

He glanced down at her in confusion.

"This place gives me the creeps, literally," she marveled as she saw the thin hairs on her forearm rise for no reason.

Pike stumbled slightly and as he came close to the wall, he felt a tingling sensation. Confused, he glanced at the closed sliding door within reach of his fingertips and reached out for it. An instant later he hastily retracted it, as if he'd been burned.

"Sir?" Tilly gasped, surprised at his reaction.

"Electricity," he answered cryptically.

"Why? How?" she wondered aloud.

He gently steadied her and pushed her in the direction of the door, surprisingly it slid open as they neared. The duo shared a mixed look of concern and confusion for a moment and then nodded at each other, both intent on finding out what was in the room.

As they stepped over the threshold the room was cascaded in a bluish hue that created an eerie feeling, foreboding and sinister at the same time. Tilly jumped as there was a spark from the middle of the room. Pike glanced in the direction of the sound and froze as he stared at the largest magnetic coil he'd ever seen. Beneath the shining metal lay a man who seemed to have been dead for quite some time.

"They never left," Tilly whispered gloomily. "The scientists; they never left, they died here."

OOOOOO

_To be continued_


	10. Hidden Truth

**Chapter Ten**

_Hidden Truth _

Michael banged her gloved hand against the bulkhead in frustration yet she was grateful for it being there. Ironically, the same thing that was preventing her from reaching her commanding officer and her friend right now had also saved them from being sucked out in the cold vacuum of space.

She shuddered involuntarily as she turned to stare out in the open; the pressure had long been equalized so she wasn't in danger of being pulled out and even if she had been, she was still dressed in her airtight suit.

The heavy steel construction was locked from the other side and sealed so as not to vent atmosphere from deep within the station. Michael tried the only thing she could do; the communicator.

"Burnham to Pike," she said hopefully. When there was no response, she adjusted frequency and tried again. "Burnham to Pike, please respond."

Receiving no reply, she sighed and tapped twice to change the channel. "Burnham to Reno."

"_Go ahead,"_ the engineer drawled, sounding somewhat resentful.

"Is there a problem?" she asked carefully.

"_Many,"_ came the fast and snarky reply. _"Did you find them?"_

Michael shook her head even though she knew Reno couldn't see her. "I need your eyes," she said enigmatically.

Jett frowned and then her lips curled upward in a sly smirk. _"Interesting," _she mused. _"I am all ears too." _

"There's a lot of damage done down here; I am staring at a pinprick a bit further away that I assume is _Discovery_. A bulkhead has sealed off the area. The captain must have managed to get Tilly to safety but I can't reach them physically and I can't communicate with them. Can you tell me what's on the other side?"

"_Funny,"_ Reno remarked as she tapped a few buttons. _"Discovery called in and asked me almost the same question." _

"Say again," Michael said. "You're breaking up."

"_It's a large laboratory section. It appears unshielded and out of power,"_ she reported before she appeared to be addressing someone else at her end. _"Did you cause it?"_

Michael raised an impeccable eyebrow, courtesy of her Vulcan upbringing.

"_Of course not,"_ the engineer's voice floated over the open communication's channel. _"Why would I have done that. Isn't that highly illogical?" _

For a moment Michael didn't know what to think.

"_Why can't you just bug off?"_ Reno replied sarcastically.

The AI Reno shifted back into the shape of Captain Pike. _"I told you I was studying illogical behavior patterns and I found you very interesting to-," _

"_Ha,"_ Reno shouted. _"You didn't see that one coming, did you?" _

Michael shuddered as she imagined the AI walking around the engineer, looking first like her doppelganger and then as her commanding officer.

"_My apologies, commander-,"_ Reno said jovially. _"-control has just given the expression of talking to oneself a whole new dimension." _

"Laboratories?" Michael stated.

"_Yeah. I am unable to access the logs from here so I can't tell you what kind of laboratories we're talking about but it would make sense if it is medical and biological laboratories – life science." _

"Why do I get a feeling it's death science?" Michael said in exasperation.

"_Well-,"_ Reno began, _"-perhaps Tilly will get a real look at 'Frankenstein's Monster' then?" _

Despite the dire situation Michael rolled her eyes. "Can you get me in from your end?" she asked curiously.

"_No, it's completely shielded from me. I have a feeling it was a deliberate act but I don't know the why or the how at the moment nor do I know the who." _

"Is there another way in?" Michael asked.

"_Stand by,"_ Reno replied as she let her fingers fly over the console. _"You can access the area from two other directions but I can't see if there is something of a hindrance on the way from up here." _

"That's good enough for me. Just point me in the right direction," she replied hopefully, eager to find the rest of the away team before time was running out.

"_I think I can download the data to you but the Phoenix just landed in the hangar bay, it squeezed into the hole Discovery punched in our hull,"_ the engineer offered.

"So, _Beta Astra_ didn't try to fire at _Discovery_," Michael deduced and breathed a sigh of relief. "I am going over, talk to you later."

"_Understood. Reno out,"_ she replied.

OOOOOO

"Where are they and why aren't they answering our hails?" Culber asked as he stayed close behind Nhan.

She swung her phaser around the corner and stared down an empty corridor. She nodded at the doctor as she exhaled deeply with relief. "The last time we heard they were down in some kind of laboratory with Sr Pratts. Now, if I've been reading the blueprints of this station correctly, we should circle around this part and head straight into the bowels of the-," she trailed off and held up a hand, indicating that he should stop and be quiet.

"What?" he whispered.

The phasers loaded simultaneously, the two women aiming at each other from different ends of the semi-dark corridor.

Michael had trouble seeing the Chief of Security in the darkness; her dark blue uniform melting into the shadows but the doctor's uniform seemed to reflect the eerie glow surrounding them.

Deciding it was safe, Michael sighed and hollered; "It's me," before she holstered her weapon and clipped it to her belt.

"Burnham," Nhan acknowledged as she lowered her weapon and began to walk toward her with Culber in tow.

Michael managed a faint smile through her faceplate. "Nhan, Culber. Welcome to _Beta Astra_," she said.

"If you're wondering why we aren't geared up in suits, like you," the doctor began sheepishly. "It's because-"

"Is there any place we could talk?" Nhan said suddenly as she interrupted him and looked intently at Michael.

Burnham shook her head sadly. Indicating that they could be overheard everywhere but then suddenly nodded. She scribbled down something on a small tablet and gave it to Nhan.

The Barzan nodded grimly and then quickly added, in writing; _Discovery_ is leaving, our air-supply would most likely have run out before they get back, if they can get back at all.

Michael's mood plummeted as she read the words but nodded anyway to indicate that she'd understood. "The captain and Ensign Tilly are trapped in another section. They need help. Pike said Tilly was showing symptoms."

"Similar to Pratts?" Culber asked worriedly.

"I am afraid so but I don't know how quickly Pratts succumbed to the virus or pathogen or whatever it is. I only know that when we got there, it was too late and I don't want to lose Tilly too," she said.

"Lead the way," Nhan replied grimly.

OOOOOO

Tilly felt her knees grow weak at the sight of the dead man but to her surprise Pike appeared calm and curious, refusing to stare death in the eye. Then he did something very peculiar; he laughed faintly.

"Sir, are you all right?" Tilly asked as she, with his help, sat down on a chair. She could see that he was affected by, whatever it was, she had been infected with but he pressed on, ignoring it as best as he could.

He swayed a little as he made his way over to the dead scientist under the coil and knelt beside him. Pike groaned as he realized that he'd lost his tricorder and let out a frustrated breath, then he tilted his head a little so that he could look at her from a slight distance. "I have a feeling this guy didn't die from whatever Pratts died of," he explained enigmatically.

Tilly's interest peaked suddenly, feeling a little better for a moment, her inner spirit rising. "No?" she said.

The captain smirked cunningly as he glanced around the room, obviously looking for something. "Where are the others?" he mused.

She followed his gaze for a moment but then closed her eyes as another dizzy-spell came over her. She grimaced as her stomach began to churn and felt the bile rise up her throat.

"Tilly?" Pike asked in concern and then, when she didn't answer, repeated his calling by using her rank. "Ensign?"

She shook her head. "Just a dizzy-spell," she assured him as she straightened in the chair.

He didn't look too convinced but she raised her head, and forced her eyes open. She even managed a half-dry smile which morphed into a gulp as the coil sparkled above Pike's head.

His reflexes seemed intact despite being infected as he rolled out of the way. The pulsing glow increased for a moment before the coil burned out and remained unlit. The charge of electricity in the room disappeared. Pike strained his eyes to see in the semi-darkness that followed. "I could use a flashlight right about now," he said.

Tilly grimaced as she got out of the chair and fumbled in the darkness, using her hands to try and find something useful on the laboratory benches. "Sir, I don't understand-," she paused trying to catch her breath as her chest constricted. "-why is it dark? Why was the coil the only thing that worked?"

"I don't know anymore than you do, Tilly, but suffice to say; we both know a lot more than we did a few moments ago."

"You have to stop talking in riddles captain," she said lightly.

"Admiral Cornwell said this place was abandoned, right?" Pike reasoned kindly as he got to his feet. "_Beta Astra_ is in a lockdown mode, 'control' is roaming down the hallways; it's literally all around us, listening into every conversation, calculating its next move."

Tilly gulped and pressed on, her need to find something useful suddenly even more pressing. "Was it the AI that shut down the transporter?" she asked.

Pike shook his head. "No, I am guessing it's this guy and his associates. I am not sure if you've noticed but the man under the coil; he was no scientist; he was a regular member of Section 31. His assignment must have had something to do with the research, he might have been overseeing the operations around here when all hell broke loose."

"I am sorry, sir, but now I am even more confused," Tilly replied and suddenly let out a little yelp of joy as her fingers hit something tube-shaped.

"Did you find something?" Pike asked.

She turned toward the sound of his voice and activated the beam of light. It enveloped him, made his skin look even paler than it had before, in the blue-tinted hue, and high-lighted the thin sheen of perspiration coating his face.

Pike blinked and then squinted, trying to get away from the sharp light, his head injury sending sparks of pain vibrating through his skull. He raised a hand to shield his eyes.

It suddenly dawned on her what she was doing and she quickly pointed the light in another direction. "My bad. I am sorry, my mind is not all there at the moment. I'm so so sorry-," she would have continued her monologue had she not stumbled over something as she backed away from her superior officer and ended up on her butt. Exhausted and embarrassed at the same time for her clumsiness she landed in a heap next to a body, her face inches from the dead man's while the flashlight beam enlightened his unseeing eyes.

Pike didn't know what was most amazing; if it was the reaction time from the fall to the slight yelp to the scrambling from the floor or the fact that she was suddenly standing very close to him, panting and pointing toward something on the floor; the profuse apologizing completely forgotten.

"I,- I," she stammered. "I found another one."

OOOOOO

_To be continued _


	11. The Truth

**Chapter Eleven**

_The Truth _

The atmosphere on the bridge of_ Discovery_ was solemn yet carefully optimistic.

"So," Tyler smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest, "-you're going to tease it?"

"Actually, that is a very accurate description," Saru replied as he took a step forward from his station and steepled his fingers before him.

"Logic suggests that by giving it a glimpse of what it wants-," Spock filled in and intentionally let the sentence hang in the air, leaving it to the Kelpien to continue.

"By allowing 'control' a glimpse at the vastness of the knowledge stored in the sphere archive, we can distract it long enough so that a data transfer can take place in the other direction. Of course, it would have been better if we could have transported the infected gel packs to _Beta Astra_ but time is, unfortunately, running out."

Admiral Cornwell cast a glance over her shoulder to see if anything had appeared on the long-range scanners and breathed a sigh of relief as she saw nothing. Satisfied she turned to the assembled bridge crew with the addition of Commander Stamets and Doctor Pollard and nodded. "When the sequence that allows 'control' this, so called, glimpse is downloaded, an activation key will follow. It will be deeply hidden in the base layer and shouldn't be of interest to the AI."

Detmer straightened in her chair as she cast an insecure glance at Owosekun. She then voiced her concern to the admiral. "Ma'am, are we actually leaving the away team behind?"

Kat sighed. She knew the question would be voiced and she thought she'd been mentally prepared for it but her mood plummeted anyway. She turned to the helmsman with a faint smile on her lips that gave no consolation at all. "Captain Pike knew what he was getting into when he assembled a team to head over to _Beta Astra_."

Stamets opened his mouth to say something but Cornwell beat him to it. "So did Doctor Culber," she said seriously, eyeing the astromycologist.

"In Starfleet there are always choices to make and, in the end, it comes down to what the best choice is for the needs of the many," the admiral explained darkly. "It may not be pretty, it may not be fair, but it's the truth. If _Discovery_ doesn't jump, if _Discovery_ is still here when Leland arrives, we will face him alone. Make no mistake, _Discovery_ is one ship. She might be marvelous, but she is still only one ship. Leland will hit us with everything he's got and sadly; if that happens then he's going to win."

Saru looked at her kindly. "May I?" he asked.

She nodded.

"What the admiral is trying to say is that we need to run in order to be able to come back, find our people and fight back properly," he said.

"Then I have one question," Tyler spoke up. "How will the virus be activated?"

"It will be pre-activated when the AI delves into the sequence, trying to decipher it; trying to get more," Spock explained. "The rest is up to Captain Pike."

Detmer and Owosekun shared a look of concern.

"Forgive me-," Doctor Pollard began, "-but Captain Pike might be deeply affected with the unknown pathogen or whatever it is. He might not even be able to activate the command even _if_ he knew that was our intention." Pollard glanced around the table. "Because that's what you want him to do, isn't it?"

"I have, despite the fact that he is human, the deepest respect for my captain," Spock said sincerely, oblivious to the looks he was getting, given the offence he'd just delivered to the human race. "He has proven me wrong on several occasions during my recent five years under his command. Logic would have suggested that he'd died four times during our five-year-mission in deep space yet he is still alive."

"It seems our captain doesn't follow the laws of Vulcan logic," Pollard smirked, earning a few nods and faint smiles from around the bridge.

"A similar scenario played out at the _Nova Star Colony_ two years ago," Spock explained. "Then it was Number One who was tasked with the – as Captain Pike described it – saving the day scenario. He ordered her to execute a command to neutralize a threat to the colony while he himself was being stranded onboard the ship with no means of reaching each other. I found it highly illogical that anyone would be able to communicate in a situation like that. However, the captain claimed he was playing a hunch and that the commander knew what was expected of her."

Tyler snorted. "While that situation was dangerous, it is not similar to what we're facing at the moment," he informed.

Spock raised an impeccable eyebrow. "Interesting, Agent Tyler, that you seem to possess knowledge that can't be obtained through the regular channels," he remarked. "I believe that_ that_ particular report and the details of the mission had been classified."

"Another time, gentlemen," Cornwell said. "Lieutenant Spock, when can we be ready to transmit?"

"Within the nearest hour, admiral," he replied.

She nodded and turned to the astromycologist. "Commander Stamets, when can we jump?"

"Anytime you want," he answered.

OOOOOO

Michael grimaced as she heard the moderate beeping from the air-supply system and paused in her decryption of the door mechanism to unlock the helmet. She braced herself for the stale air but was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the recycled oxygen.

"Not too bad, huh?" Culber offered kindly.

Her lips curled faintly upwards as she turned to him and shook her head.

"We should be able to reach them soon," Nhan reported as she glanced at the blueprints on the screen before her.

"If only I could get this door open," Michael muttered.

Nhan raised her gun as she heard movement coming from behind them and breathed a sigh of relief as Reno stepped out of the shadows.

The engineer was out of her airtight suit and she carried with her what looked suspiciously like a power cell. "Finally," Jett drawled. "This station is bigger than I thought. Look, _Discovery_ just took off. I could have kept you in the dark about that but, hey, it doesn't matter anymore because the AI has already recorded its disappearance."

Burnham pursed her lips into a thin line of displeasure as she looked from Reno to Nhan and then to Culber.

"Which means; it's now or never," Reno added as she walked up to the last of the doors separating the team members from each other. She quickly attached the power cell to the hub next to the mechanism while Burnham's gadget ran its course, trying to break the code.

The others watched as the sections of the corridor was lit up one by one further and further away.

"That's all it took?" Culber asked skeptically. "One power cell?"

Reno smirked. "No, no doc, but it's a step in the right direction."

"Clever," Nhan said with a sly grin as she nodded.

"Ingenious I would say," Reno replied. "By shielding off the station in sections, the AI was prevented from taking control over the whole thing. But that's only one step of the precautions they took to control it."

The door suddenly unlocked and swooshed open to reveal a semi-dark endless room that seemed to span for miles ahead of them.

Reno quickly walked in and within a few seconds she had the artificial lighting restored in the laboratory.

"Captain?" Burnham called. "Tilly?"

Nhan began to tap away at her scanner as Culber brought out a tricorder from his bag that had been slung over his shoulder.

They spread out in the room but Pike and Tilly remained hidden to them.

"What in the blazes is this thing?" Reno wondered aloud as she came to stand before a large coil.

Nhan quickly joined her to look at it and froze at the sight of the man beneath it. "Doctor Culber!" she hollered.

Without a word he made his way over to turn the black clad man on his back, then he shook his head sadly. "This man has been deceased for quite some time I am afraid," he said.

"Now, correct me if I am wrong but that ain't no scientist," Reno drawled.

Michael shook her head. "No, that is an agent of Section 31," she explained.

"Makes sense," Culber replied as he got up from his crouched position. "This is a Section 31 base."

The three of them jumped as something clattered to the floor a few clicks away.

Nhan raised her gun, aiming it at the direction of the sound, but Burnham held up her hand as she began to walk away. She halted mid-step as a cylindrical object appeared on the floor rolling between two of the benches. She trailed the object and deduced it was a flashlight.

"It's a flashlight," Reno said from behind her, having come to the same conclusion.

"Help," a faint, hoarse voice called.

The trio looked at each other and then sat off at a run toward the sound of Ensign Sylvia Tilly's voice.

"Oh my God," Michael whispered as she was the first to reach her roommate. She knelt next to the pale, perspiring woman and gently nudged her shoulder.

Dull eyes, glazed and confused, tried to focus on her and there was a faint upward curl to her lips as she finally recognized Burnham. "Michael," she whispered.

Doctor Culber quickly ran his medical tricorder over her body and Michael wasn't overly surprised as it chirped loudly.

Nhan pursed her lips into a thin line of displeasure as she glanced around the immediate area. She knew Captain Pike wouldn't abandon a sick or injured crewmember. "Ensign, where is Captain Pike?" she asked worriedly.

The smile on Tilly's face faltered. "Gone-," she whispered.

Nhan shook her head as she felt a chill down her spine. "No," she whispered.

Burnham and Reno looked troubled while Culber swallowed; none of them wanting to accept what the young ensign was telling them.

"-to see the scientist," Tilly added faintly.

They breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Nhan glanced around again and froze as she saw a hand on the floor, sticking out between two benches a few rows further down the room. She dashed for it with Reno in tow. "Sir?" she called as she rounded the bench.

The Barzan hesitated for a moment at seeing her commanding officer in such a bad condition. It was Reno; used to her badly injured and broken colleagues on the _SS Hiawatha_, who approached him. She knelt next to him and nudged his shoulder gently. "Come on captain," she encouraged.

He was laying on his stomach, his chin resting on the floor while a faint trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Nhan too, knelt next to him, opposite to Reno, and together they turned him on his back. He was cold, much too cold to touch, yet his skin was clammy and his greyish hair plastered to his forehead mixed with caked blood from a head wound.

"Chris?" Nhan called, indicating for the first time something that the _Discovery_ crew had already guessed; that the bridge crew of the _USS Enterprise_ was much closer to each other than they were. "Chris, can you hear me?"

He blinked his eyes open and swallowed, his mouth dry, then he snapped his eyes shut again and rolled to his side to cough.

Nhan gently placed a hand on his shoulder and held him for a moment while Reno pursed her lips in displeasure at the deterioration of his health since the last time she'd seen him; that was only two hours ago.

Doctor Culber suddenly came rushing over to them and knelt next to Pike's face as Nhan was seated at his shoulder and Reno was crouched behind his back.

To their surprise Pike suddenly opened his eyes again and focused on Culber, his blue eyes steady and clear as he addressed the doctor. "How's Tilly?" he asked in a subdued voice.

"I have taken care of her," the good doctor promised him with a kind smile. "Now, how are you holding up?"

Pike grimaced and then managed a dimpled smirk. "I've been better, I've been worse," he admitted simply. "It's-, episodic."

Culber nodded. "You have a nasty headwound," he stated as he produced a penlight out of his bag.

Pike knew the drill, catching on a bit too easily, as he knew Doctor Boyce wouldn't relent until he cooperated. While Culber was the ranking medical officer onboard the_ Discovery_, now that he was back among the living, Pike hadn't been treated by the man so he didn't know what to expect.

Culber was swift and gentle and offered him a smile when he put the penlight away. "Luckily you don't seem to be concussed," he said.

The captain nodded faintly. "Good, then you can help me up," he suggested plainly.

"Now, wait a minute, captain. Just because you don't have a concussion-," the doctor began but Nhan and Reno had already pulled Pike upright before he could protest further.

Nhan was hesitant to let go of him as he straightened and eyed him carefully. "You're not going to do a nosedive on me, are you, sir?"

Pike actually chuckled sarcastically at that. "No, commander," he assured her as he glanced over her shoulder to see Michael gently helping Tilly over to them, the latter leaning against the lean woman who was now out of her airtight suit. He frowned as he registered that none of them had anything more than their uniforms on.

"Captain, what is this place?" Reno asked curiously as she glanced around the large room. "And what is that?" she added as she pointed in the direction of the coil.

"We don't know yet," he explained. "It sparkled with electricity when we got here, then it just went off-line. Tilly managed to find a flashlight but it was of no use more than to point us in the direction of yet another dead man. All the consoles are dead, rendered powerless, just as the coil."

"Another dead man?" Doctor Culber echoed curiously.

Pike swallowed. "Yeah, Tilly stumbled over him," he said and nodded at the blushing woman.

"I won't see another horror movie ever again," she blurted.

"Oh, you will, honey, maybe not just this upcoming week," Reno stated with a smirk.

The captain turned to the doctor curiously. "Have you had time to take a scan of him?" he asked.

Culber shook his head. "He wasn't my first priority."

"Now, I am playing a hunch here but I bet none of these guys died the same way Pratts did," he stated seriously.

"Why not?" Burnham asked.

"Because our Section 31 member beneath the coil is riddled with projectiles," Pike deadpanned. "And our dead scientist over there is-," he paused to catch his breath and let out a moan as intense pain radiated from his skull.

Reno and Nhan quickly reach out to support him, afraid he'd end up on the floor.

"Okay, that's it," Culber reasoned. "You need proper medical attention and I need to take samples from Sr. Pratts and see if I can deduce the exact cause of death."

"She's in the infirmary," Tilly said weakly.

The doctor nodded grimly as he looked from the young ensign to the seasoned captain and then back again. This was a doctor's worst nightmare; to stand by and be unable to do anything else than to watch while his friends and patients' conditions deteriorated. He didn't know when the point of no return would be reached; maybe it was already too late to save any of them? "How far?" he finally managed darkly.

"Half across the station," Reno informed.

"Let's go then," Pike suggested wearily and took a shallow breath. "While I still can."

OOOOOO

"We're back in normal space," Nilsson reported from her station on the bridge.

"Shall I hold our position?" Detmer asked as she glanced over her shoulder at the admiral.

Cornwell nodded as she got out of the captain's chair. "Yes, lieutenant," she confirmed. "Let's keep all our scanners up and running, long-range and short-range and hull cameras."

Spock turned away from the consoles of the science station to see the woman in charge better. "Admiral, if I may," he began curtly but he didn't really wait for her to give him the go. "Logic would suggest that 'control' have no way of knowing where to look for us, therefore we will be safe here for the time being."

She was just about to reply to his statement as he began to speak again.

"Of course, our exact position can be triangulated and calculated using analysis of our behavioral patterns, charts of the Mycelial Network and a few other factors. In time, there will be nowhere for us to hide. The more we jump, the more data can be analyzed and calculated by the AI."

"A human is never one hundred percent logical, Lieutenant Spock," Cornwell countered. "The world is not only consisting of one's and zero's or black and white."

"Admiral, as Agent Tyler pointed out earlier-," Saru began seriously. "-the AI is developing new skills for every second that goes by. It won't be long until it guesses our next move based on previous decisions, command style, risk and so on. Forgive me if this sounds like insubordination ma'am but since you have been Starfleet's liaison with Section 31 and involved with the daily threat assessments, I would assume that 'control' knows your ways by now. Perhaps it would be best if you took a step down?"

Cornwell glanced around the bridge, serious faces staring back at her, their expressions a mix of hope and despair. She nodded and turned to the Kelpien. "No offence taken, Commander Saru," she said and gestured for him to take her place.

He looked troubled for a moment, hesitant to leave his station to come forward.

"You are the ranking officer onboard this ship when Captain Pike and Commander Burnham is not present, are you not?" she asked.

"Very well, admiral," he said apologetically as he pushed a button to communicate with engineering. "Commander Stamets, this the bridge. Please jump to the following coordinates," he stated and punched in a series of commands. "I believe we have friends there."

Commander Stamets stared at his screen. It read; Talos IV.

OOOOOO

/Insert chapter one/

OOOOOO

_To be continued_


	12. Square One

**Chapter Twelve**

_Square One_

Tilly's last conscious thought was one of relief as she mumbled; "he's alive, he's alive."

Michael carefully wiped the perspiration off of her roommate's forehead and gave her a faint worried smile. "It's going to be okay, Tilly, it's coming in episodes. Just hang in there."

Behind her the kind yet tough Barzan hauled her captain up and, with the help of the doctor, brought him over to a bed in the adjoining lab/infirmary section.

Reno looked troubled as she glanced over her shoulder, having reactivated most of the equipment in the room using convertible power cells and home-made reroutes that she was very proud of.

Nhan stood back as Culber began to take readings of the captain, using _Beta Astra's_ specialized equipment. The accuracy with which the instruments worked was amazing to the good doctor. Not that he should have been surprised; _Beta Astra_ was, after all, a top-secret facility run by Section 31.

"Come on now, Chris, you have been through far worse. You can't give in to this," the Barzan encouraged worriedly.

Culber suddenly stiffened as he realized what he was looking at. "We've been wrong all the time," he whispered astoundingly.

Nhan frowned as she walked up close to Pike's other side. "Doc?" she asked quizzically.

Reno's eyebrows shut up in surprise as she strained her eyes to see the display on the wall behind the captain's head. The engineer took a few steps closer. "I'll be damned," she mumbled.

Pike moaned in despair as he hitched on a breath and crinkled his noise. He scrunched his forehead; pain seemed etched all over his face and blood once again began to trickle from his mouth.

"Captain!" Nhan called worriedly as she offered her hand for him to grab.

He clasped her glove and squeezed it with such force that she gasped.

"Captain Pike," Hugh called seriously.

"Machine," he said in a subdued voice through clenched teeth, surprising the doctor.

"Nanobots," Hugh confirmed darkly. "They are everywhere in you."

"That's what he did," Tilly wheezed as she was leaning on Burnham not too far away, having come to her senses; her episode coming to an end.

"Who?" Culber asked curiously.

"He tried to stop it," Michael said as she caught on to Tilly's train of thought. "The scientist that didn't die from the exposure to the strain of nanobots."

"He flowed half the station with EMP," Pike offered as a way of explanation, reaching up to wipe away the blood from his face.

"That explains why the AI can't reach into this part of the station anymore, but I don't understand? Shouldn't the equipment be fried in here if that's what he did?" Hugh asked skeptically.

"Most of it is," Reno spoke up. "But I've managed to reconnect this part to the auxiliary control which is a hub down the corridor. Sometimes it's good to be paranoid and take precautions. Section 31 obviously expected trouble here because they've built in enough fail safes to make a prison architect proud."

Pike grimaced as he propped himself up on one elbow. "When he flowed the area with EMP, he 'killed' the nanobots. I am not sure if you noticed it but-,"

Culber nodded suddenly. "Yes, the black clad Section 31 member beneath the coil. He was riddled with projectiles from some kind of weapon, the tissue around some of the entrance wounds had started to repair itself."

Reno involuntarily shuddered. Normally she liked technology but this was one thing she absolutely loathed. "You know, I like a machine when it _is_ a machine. They were never meant to be sentient; to feel the way we do, or try and take over the world for that matter," she drawled sarcastically.

"Wait a minute," Tilly whispered. "I am a bit slow on the uptake. You mean that the biological warfare agent they created here was in fact a merging between a human and a machine?"

"I'd say it was successful; a bit too successful," Reno replied darkly.

"Section 31 has something called protective shutdown," Michael explained as she looked at her team mates. "Ash told me. They had to have had a way to reverse it, or at least stop it, before it got out of hand."

"Yes," Pike grimaced as he finally managed a sitting position on the biobed, earning a glare from the doctor. "Their way of doing it was by sealing the place, enter a lockdown sequence and activate an EMP pulse that would knock out half the station."

"That's both the problem and the solution," Michael reasoned. "_Beta Astra_ is too big. The AI hid from the pulse. It is still active, the scientists died here for nothing."

"I wouldn't say for nothing," Nhan reasoned. "Imagine what would have happened if it had been able to leave in the shape and form of a human."

"That scenario has been reached anyway," Culber said darkly. "I saw the damage it inflicted on Agent Tyler after having merged with Captain Leland."

"Can we enhance the EMP field somehow?" Pike asked curiously. "Flood the entire station?"

"The coil - you have to get it up and running again, Reno," the Barzan said quickly as she grabbed Pike´s arm in order to haul him to his feet. "We might be able to neutralize it once and for all."

"The scientist was clean," Doctor Culber added hopefully.

"If he didn't die from merging with the nanobots then what did he die of?" Tilly asked carefully, not sure she wanted an answer to that.

"Probably from the shock of being separated from them so rapidly," Culber guessed grimly. "The most likely scenario is that when deactivated the nanobots formed clots that gathered in his lungs, legs, heart and brain."

Pike nodded a silent thanks toward Nhan as she let go of him and then shared a troubled look with Tilly as Nhan went over to the bench and picked up her weapon.

"If we manage to reactivate the coil then we might be able to build another one and send out a pulse through the entire Section 31 network, thereby killing it from within," Nhan reasoned, not wanting to think about the fate of her captain and the young ensign before her that Doctor Culber had avertedly told them of.

"Didn't you see that mess in the laboratory?" Reno argued. "I can't work miracles."

Culber suddenly smiled and placed a hand on the engineer's shoulder. "Yes, you can. I know you," he said brightly.

Tilly suddenly straightened, not in need of Burnham's support, eliciting a look of confusion from the other woman.

"No, no, no," the red-head mumbled suddenly as she grabbed at her head and snapped her eyes shut.

Culber quickly rushed over to run the medical tricorder over her. "Tilly?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

Nhan pointed her gun in the direction of the ensign, the gun never wavering. "That's not Sylvia Tilly," she said darkly. "Not anymore."

Tilly caught Burnham with surprise as she grabbed her and hurled her in the direction of the Barzan with powers she didn't know the young woman possessed.

Tilly then took off and disappeared down the corridor.

Reno quickly grabbed Nhan by her shoulders and held her for a moment. "Are you all right?"

She nodded and blinked. "Yeah, just give me a moment," she whispered.

The engineer nodded and went over to haul Michael up. "Come on," she encouraged.

"Thanks," Burnham panted and bent over to rest her arms on her knees for a moment.

"Leave me here and seek out a safe place to hide," Pike ordered in a subdued, pained voice.

"No, we're going to fix that machine," Reno replied. "I am pissed off and very encouraged to settle my differences with the program."

"Doctor Culber," Nhan said curiously. "Why is the captain still experiencing difficulties while Ensign Tilly-,"

"-like you said," Pike interrupted, not without effort, as he leaned back against the bed for support, obviously fighting a wave of nausea. "I have been through worse situations than Tilly."

"They're repairing cracks in your bones and deleting markers in your blood," Culber added in amazement as he took another reading.

"Great," Pike spoke up sarcastically. "I am no longer immune to the Rigelian fever."

"Now that I know how to read them and look for them, I see concentrations to your ribs, your frontal lobe, your left knee and your right wrist. Even though bones and tissue can be regenerated through medicine and artificial healing, the structure will never be completely the same, there will be weaknesses, marks of injuries to the body," Hugh explained with excitement. "Captain, they are repairing you; this is amazing."

"I don't_ feel_ amazing, doctor," he said softly through clenched teeth.

"This can revolutionize the medical field," Culber said cheerfully.

"It can be the end of all sentient life in the galaxy, doctor," Michael pointed out.

OOOOOO

Tilly felt strangely invigorated as she worked her way through the station toward the control room. She felt complete yet so strange. Her body felt strong, optimized somehow. There was a bounce to her steps that she hadn't felt in years, not even when she'd been high on energy drinks in the Academy. Suddenly she didn't understand what the resistance was all about. Why not embrace the advancements of technology instead of rejecting them? She was much better now; better than anyone.

Tilly smirked as she stood outside the control room, then broke into a grin as the door opened before her to reveal a dimpled smile from a very familiar figure.

"Welcome, Ensign Sylvia Tilly," AI Pike said smoothly as he was leaning casually against one of the control panels.

Unable to contain herself she grinned like a school girl. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished and she shook her head in disbelief at her own reaction. This wasn't real. Captain Pike wasn't standing next to her; the AI did.

He looked at her kindly, his blue eyes sparkling as a dimpled half-smile appeared on his face. "You have doubts," he stated. "You thought I was evil."

She nodded and twined her hands in front of her as she looked away. Not sure what else to do. "No, sir-," she trailed off. "I mean-, I don't know what I mean-, 'control'?"

The holographic form chuckled. "Sir, will do just fine," he said.

"Except you're not my commanding officer," she replied coldly. "You-," she paused as he came to stand before her, their faces only a few inches apart.

He reached for her shoulders but he was only a mere projection, not a solid being. She grimaced anyway. "You know, I have killed hundreds of lost souls," he whispered coldly as he reached out a hand to trace her jaw.

She gulped at the coldness displayed in those eyes that was usually filled with kindness and a slight mischief.

"Where is _Discovery_?" he asked.

"I don't know," she replied quickly.

"What have they been up to?" he pressed.

Tilly grimaced as she fell to her knees and reached up to put her palms to her temples. It felt like she was on fire, like something was spreading through her veins. Whatever it was, it was rushing toward her brain.

AI Pike shook his head sadly at the sight. "The human mind is so disorganized," he mused. "I fail to understand how you manage to function without a meaningful purpose."

She grimaced as she felt the warmth beneath her fingertips. She didn't have long now, she was a Starfleet officer, she had to stop it somehow before it was too late; before she was just a messenger, a tool to be used against her friends.

"What…you're doing…is wrong," she managed through clenched teeth.

"You'll see it my way soon enough," he said casually. "And when you do, you're going to tell me everything you know about the sphere data and how to find _Discovery_."

"No," she whispered.

"Who knows, maybe we can even flush out your friends?" he crouched next to her and studied her for a moment. "You think we can live together; coexist? I don't need you anymore."

OOOOOO

_To be continued _


	13. Old Friends

**Chapter Thirteen**

_Old Friends _

Despite being hurled across half the quadrant _Discovery_ returned to normal space at the given coordinates a few minutes after entering the Mycelial Network.

Spock arched an eyebrow at the sight of the unmistakable fourth planet in the star system he and the rest of the crew of the _Enterprise_ had promised never to visit again; never to speak of again. "Interesting," he remarked as he, logic aside, wondered what kind of illusion the Talosians would indulge them in this time.

"Report," the admiral demanded as she stared at the view screen.

"Entering geosynchronous orbit around-," Detmer stiffened as she read the name of the planet on her console.

Owosekun cautiously began to tap away at her station as several warning lights flashed through the navigation system.

"Talos IV," Spock finished for the pilot.

"_Spock,"_ Vina called in a lilting voice as she appeared next to the captain's chair. She glanced around the room but it was obvious that she knew Pike wasn't among them.

Judging by the look on Saru's face, and Admiral Cornwell's, it was obvious that this time the image of Vina was projected by the Talosians to all of the officers' present on the bridge.

"_You have put Chris in danger,"_ she stated softly to Spock yet there was a disturbing tone of disapproval in her voice.

Saru harrumphed as he took a step forward and clasped his hands before him. "I was the one who gave the orders to come here," the Kelpien said seriously.

She turned to him and nodded faintly. _"You are hiding from 'control_'," she said._ "We know." _

"Someone has a lot to explain about this planet," Tyler said coldly as he stared at the blonde woman.

Doctor Pollard curiously tried to scan the woman but it was to no avail, scanners didn't pick up any life sign.

Vina turned to the doctor with a sad smile. _"I am not present here, Doctor Pollard,"_ she said softly. _"I cannot venture off the realms of my confinement at Talos IV." _

"Section 31 is very interested to know what really happened here, admiral," Tyler cautioned.

Kat turned to him, hands on her hips. "Really? I thought you said you didn't like their methods anymore, Agent Tyler?" she remarked quizzically.

Vina suddenly nodded, as if she was being summoned back. She bowed lightly and turned from Cornwell to Spock. _"You will be safe here," _she whispered and vanished into thin air.

"That isn't possible," Tyler muttered, meaning the way the woman disappeared. "Is it some kind of transporter?"

"Normally, I would agree with you, Agent Tyler," Spock said. "However, as you are well aware, since you've read the memo from _Enterprise's_ visit, even though you deny to know anything-,"

"That report is hidden beneath so many layers of red tape that not even the Section can find it," Cornwell interrupted with slight amusement at the frustration that was evident on Tyler's face. Needless to say, that anything you see here today can never be spoken of again. Is that clear?"

A faint chorus of yes ma'am could be heard from the officers around her.

"As I was trying to explain," Spock continued. "Vina is a real human being. She is from Earth originally. When the ship she was travelling on crashed, the Talosians put her back together again. However, their medical expertise, particularly when it comes to the human body, is limited. What you saw of her was a projection of how she used to look before the crash, several years ago."

"An illusion is something the mind creates on its own. It is not something projected to you by others, nor is it possible to envision an illusion to a group of people-," Pollard reasoned.

"Why did you go there?" Ash pushed, cutting the doctor off. "Why did Starfleet issue General Order Seven?"

"The _Enterprise_ was lured here," Cornwell explained coldly as she turned to Tyler and then nodded at Pollard before she once again fixed the agent with a glare. "The Talosians are a powerful race, their capabilities are beyond anything we have ever seen before. Their thoughts alone can start a war, Tyler."

"But they helped Lieutenant Spock," Detmer protested skeptically.

Kat nodded. "Commander Burnham should never have taken him here," she said seriously as she turned to glare at Saru. "And we should never have jumped here either."

The Kelpien bowed his head slightly but he did not apologize for his actions. Instead he said seriously; "Desperate times calls for drastic measures."

OOOOOO

Doctor Culber looked down at his colleague with a mixture of sadness and confusion.

Michael followed his gaze to the pale face of Jeannie Pratts. "I am sorry, Hugh," she said softly.

He shook his head. "She was a smart woman, there was so much experience, so much credentials, he said dejectedly.

"The AI was on top of its game," Michael replied as she walked up to stand next to the doctor.

"This might sound strange to you but as a member of the medical staff you mostly report to your senior department head. You never really get close to the bridge officers. Captain Pike is an interim captain and the distance to command was therefore even longer than usual. Now, put it this way; if a flagship officer, who's considered to be one of the best in the fleet, comes to you; even in the form of a hologram, wouldn't you trust his words explicitly?"

Michael sighed as she tilted her head and ran a hand over her forehead. "It's ironic; Captain Pike hates holographic forms."

Culber turned a little to look at the man in question who lay sedated on the next biobed. "Has he ever told you why?" he asked curiously.

She shook her head and froze as there was a sudden jerky movement of the captain's hand.

The doctor acted quickly as he rushed over, prepared a hypo and emptied it in Pike's neck. "We can't keep this up much longer, it's wreaking havoc with his system. The amount I've given him is already triple of what is required to keep him under for two days," he said seriously.

"It's the nanobots," Michael stated. "They are fighting it. He knew that would happen eventually. Captain Pike is a smart, decorated officer. I am glad that my brother received a position on the _Enterprise_ and I know he looks upon the captain as his mentor. I am saying this because Spock doesn't seek guidance and mentorship from many people. Serving under Pike now, onboard the _Discovery_, has made me understand what true leadership is all about."

"I know you don't really want to talk about it but, Captain Philippa Georgiou-," Hugh began softly.

Michael shook her head sadly and snorted. "She was funny, smart, down-to-earth; that is, if you can call a Starfleet officer that. She believed in me, trusted me-," she looked at Hugh with regret. "I betrayed that trust, I let her down because I thought I knew better. I killed my captain, Hugh. I'd do everything to change that if I could."

"You did what you thought was best," the doctor reasoned kindly.

"I was wrong in so many ways," she whispered hollowly. "Then I failed to see who Captain Lorca really was."

"Everyone in Starfleet did. You can't blame yourself for that," he said seriously.

Michael shook her head. "I can't blow this. I've lost my mother twice, I've lost and found my brother, I've gotten my former commanding officer killed. I am not letting Captain Pike down; I am not going to get a flagship captain killed too."

"Somehow I don't think you can stop him from making his own decisions. You said it yourself; he's smart and you can't always watch his back; he's not expecting you to do that. If he decides to place himself in danger and you can't save him, he will understand," the doctor said kindly.

"Yeah," she shook her head. "That's the worst of it."

"I think you're forgetting that the _Enterprise_ returned crippled from a five-year-mission not too long ago. I heard rumors in the mess hall that the last part of that mission was spent being trapped in a nebula caught between two fighting fractions. The enemy grabbed at least half of the crew and half of the ship crashed on a hostile planet. Through ingenuity, diplomacy and a bit of luck they managed to piece the ship together and returned home with every single crewmember onboard."

Michael's lips curled upwards at the doctor.

"What I am trying to say is that Captain Pike seems perfectly capable of taking care of himself."

She smirked. "I don't know, I saw him placing himself between a child and an overloading phaser. I heard he volunteered for a shuttle mission in a time rift-, he can be a little reckless sometimes." She looked at the captain with a fond smile as she recalled her first meeting with him. The slight mischief in his eyes as he said; _"Let's have a little fun along the way." _

Michael suddenly grew serious again as she turned back to look at Pratts. "Why did she die? Why didn't she turn on us like Tilly did?"

"I can't say for sure yet until I've run all the samples," Hugh replied.

OOOOOO

Tyler walked back and forth between tactical and communications, passing the turbolift for what must have been the umptieth time. "Admiral, with all due respect," he insisted. "We can't just sit here doing nothing."

Kat arched an eyebrow as she turned slightly to face him, hands crossed over her chest. "You'd better replicate yourself a couple of new boots. I am surprised you have any rubber left under your feet."

He stopped and simpered.

"We are going to wait here for a while," she reasoned. "We have been over this. The further away the _Discovery_ is from Leland, the better."

"Actually, Agent Tyler does have a fair point," Saru stated. "There is no telling whether or not Captain Pike will succeed to activate our Trojan horse. Frankly, we don't even know if any of them are alive."

"If the captain activates the virus it will severely hamper the AI and disturb Section 31's network, but since we have no Section 31 ships or gadgets around here, there is nothing to tell us when the activation occurs," Spock filled in.

"The captain will activate our homing beacon," Detmer said.

Spock nodded. "While that is true, lieutenant, it doesn't have the range to reach us this far out."

"Thank you," Cornwell said sternly as she glanced around the bridge, seeing the worried faces. "We also know from all the simulations we've run on this, that it is not likely that Captain Pike activates our little surprise within the next ten hours."

"I am surprised you trust data models," Stamets said as he appeared on the bridge, having heard the last of her statement. "Given the fact that 'Control' was originally intended as a means to simulate and assess threats to the Federation via Starfleet."

Kat had years of experience of dealing with upset, worried, obnoxious and anxious crewmen as a counselor so she quickly dismissed his sour tone as worry for his friends and Doctor Culber in particular. "Commander Stamets, I assure you that we're not going to leave anyone behind; not if I can help it."

OOOOOO

Culber jerked backwards in surprise as a blonde woman suddenly appeared on the other side of the captain's bedside.

She looked at Pike fondly and gently reached out to touch his cheek.

Culber was amazed that the woman seemed so real, yet she couldn't be real; or could she? He watched her hand, of flesh and blood, caressed his superior officer's cheek and then carefully remove a strand of hair from his forehead.

"_Chris?"_ she whispered softly but it was as if she knew he wouldn't reply to her. She turned to look at the doctor, studying him closely for a moment.

Hugh looked at her somewhat nervously, not sure what to make of her. He had been through the most peculiar things in the Mycelial Network and he'd seen a merging between a human and a Klingon up close; he'd even been killed by it once. He had learned of a mirror universe from which his former captain had originated and he'd recently been reborn. Nothing ought to surprise him anymore yet this did. He wondered where this woman fit into all the craziness in the world and why she seemed so fond of Captain Pike.

"Vina?" Michael called curiously as she walked up to stand next to Hugh.

"_Michael,"_ she greeted kindly, a small smile creasing her lips before she turned serious again_. "You are in danger."_

"Believe me; we know," Michael replied.

Vina shook her head sadly. _"No, you don't,"_ she whispered as her eyes once again landed upon the still form of Christopher Pike. _"You need to wake up Chris." _

The doctor swallowed. "I don't know who you are or what your connection to Captain Pike is but he's been infected by nanobots. If I wake him up, he'll join our renegade ensign and put us in great danger. Captain Pike asked me to sedate him, he said that-,"

The smile returned to her lips as she reluctantly took her eyes off Pike and looked at Burnham and Culber instead. _"I am not surprised,"_ she interrupted smoothly. _"He always makes sure that everyone else are all right but himself." _

Michael carefully nodded toward the woman standing opposite her and then turned to Hugh. "Vina is an illusion of our minds," she explained, seeing the confused look on the doctor's face.

"That isn't possible," Culber replied seriously as he once again stared at her hand that now rested carefully on the bed next to Pike's shoulder; it remained solid.

"If the Talosians wanted to, they could easily plant whatever scenario they want in your mind if you're close enough. However, at this distance I am surprised they can even project Vina," Burnham explained.

"_We have reached an agreement,"_ Vina said. _"Chris unknowingly gave me what I wanted. I am ashamed of what they put him through before they realized that what they did was wrong. They tried to rectify their mistakes by letting him go and by helping Spock." _

Culber nodded faintly as he recalled updating Captain Pike's medical file. In it, there were several encrypted entries that required the highest medical security classification; a class almost none of the regular doctor's where entrusted with. He didn't know much about Talos, there wasn't much information available, but he _did_ know when General Order Seven was placed over the area of space where the Talos Star System was positioned. Right before that, there were several entries made by his old teacher and mentor, Doctor Philip Boyce in the captain's file.

"That came with a price and you know it," Michael replied, her voice colder than before.

Vina ignored the statement, instead she said; _"Your ship is with us. It will be safe there but what they have prepared before leaving needs to be activated-,"_ she trailed off as she suddenly blinked out of existence.

"Vina?" Michael called out into thin air.

The woman returned again. _"Like you said, the distance is straining for us and it requires everyone on the planet to make it work. Wake Chris up, he knows what to do," _she said and then vanished completely._ "Take care of him for me,"_ she whispered.

Reno suddenly burst through the doors of the infirmary. "Damn communication is down again," she muttered. "I think we've got it up and running but I still don't know exactly how it works. Nhan is trying to break the codes as we speak."

Culber was torn as he looked from a hopeful Reno to a skeptical Burnham and then at the sedated form of Captain Pike. He swallowed and glanced at Michael. "Do you trust her?" he asked quizzically.

Burnham remained silent for a moment; a moment too long to the good doctor.

"Trust whom?" Reno asked incredulously. "Me?"

"Vina," Michael clarified.

Reno sighed and shook her head. "It's official, everyone at this place has gone mad. There is no one here but us."

"Exactly," Michael returned but her eyes never left Pike and Culber. "Maybe we can compromise?"

"Is he going to be all right, or is he going to go all crazy on us; like Ensign Tilly?" the engineer asked as she took a step toward the biobed.

Michael turned to Reno. "You said you had it up and running?" she stated, talking about the coil.

"Yeah-," Reno drawled as she put her hands on her hips and fixed the commander with a cocky glare, a typical trademark of the engineer. "-and then I said I hadn't figured it out yet."

"It'll have to do," Michael reasoned softly as she moved over to the captain's bedside and began to gently haul him up. "They don't jump from person to person, huh?"

"Wow," Culber cautioned, not liking the idea of moving Pike anywhere.

It was Reno who actually gave an answer to her question. "No, they don't. Those little buggers want only the captain right now," she said as she moved around the bed to help her team mates. She glanced curiously at Michael from around Pike's shoulder as he was now raised into a sitting position yet limp between them. "You want to kill them off by placing him under the coil, huh?"

Burnham nodded.

"What makes you so sure it'll work?" Reno added seriously.

"It has too," she replied through clenched teeth.

"Michael, please," Culber protested. "This is insane, there are so many things that could go wrong. If the shock doesn't kill him, the nanobots probably will by clothing in the veins."

"You said it yourself; he'll forgive me," she deadpanned.

OOOOOO

_To be continued _


	14. The Frying Pan

**Chapter Fourteen**

_The Frying Pan_

She was weeping in agony where she sat on the floor. "Make them go away," she begged. "You said it yourself; we can't coexist."

"I need your help," AI Pike reasoned as he crouched next to her. "There are things I am not capable of doing."

She tilted her head upwards as tears trickled down her face. "That's right, they've blocked you out down there and you don't like not to be in 'control', huh?"

"The plan is moving forward; the game is set. I don't need your hindrance; I simply don't have time for it."

Tilly chuckled bitterly at the word _time_. "Time is yours; the future is yours – isn't it?" she replied angrily. "And don't you dare look at me like that!"

The AI looked startled for a moment at her illogical outburst. "I thought you wanted a friendly face?" he said.

Tilly defiantly fixed him with a glare, deciding to be stubborn till the very end. "You are not…him. You don't even know what it means to be him. He's hopeful, kind and fair; those are traits you'll never be able to understand. He's willing to sacrifice himself for others, not kill others to survive – like you!"

The ensign groaned as she felt a spike of pain through her head then collapsed to the floor. "Incompatible," she whispered.

The AI studied her curiously for a moment as if actually trying to understand what she'd said, then he shook his head and vanished into thin air to linger in the data storage where he'd come from.

OOOOOO

Electricity was sparkling in the air as they walked through the door with the limp form of Captain Pike between them.

Culber shuddered at the unpleasant tingling sensation created by the current and felt a chill down his spine as the supposedly sedated captain raised his head slightly.

Burnham and Reno shared a grim look and picked up the pace.

"What's going on?" Nhan said seriously, standing behind the controls a bit further away.

"Reboot," Reno offered.

The man and machine suddenly straightened and shook his head. "No," he whispered and dug his heels into the floor.

Normally Pike was fit, all muscle, and in perfect condition. Now, with the enhanced strength of the nanobots it was impossible for the two women, even with the help of the doctor, to move him closer to the coil. Instead he began to struggle to get free and threw his escorts off.

Nhan hesitated, her firearm trained on her superior officer. There could be no such a thing as hesitation in her type of work, she knew it wasn't affordable, but it was the impossible situation she was faced with that had her staggering. She saw her kind and compassionate captain before her and yet the man she looked at was nothing like the man she'd gotten to know and respect over the years. 'Was he still in there somewhere?' she wondered.

Michael threw herself at him, trying to get him off balance, but it was to no avail; he was quick to throw her off.

Nhan swallowed and pulled the trigger, hitting him on his left side, below to the collarbone. The impact forced him backwards and he staggered, trying to regain his balance.

"Forgive me," Culber mumbled under his breath as he lounged himself at the captain, pushing him into the area under the coil and into a concentrated beam of pulsating blue light.

He trashed wildly on the floor for a moment, then he went limp and silent.

Reno moved over to the controls and promptly turned the thing off. However, Pike remained unmoving and unconscious.

Nhan and Culber reached him simultaneously from two directions, both kneeling next to him.

"Captain," Nhan called softly as she trailed the frayed fabric of his uniform where she'd shot him. "Chris?"

"It worked, didn't it?" Reno asked as she took notice of the wound. "They would have repaired him."

"Hugh?" Michael called with concern as the doctor seemed unnaturally quiet while studying his scanner.

"He's alive," he finally deduced.

There was a collective sigh of relief.

"I read only minor clothing in the blood but the fact that they're there is a risk," the good doctor cautioned as he retrieved a hypo from his bag. "I'll give him a stimulus to shake off the sedation but that's it. I won't risk a deadly cocktail to an already overtaxed system."

Pike groaned as he became gradually aware of his surroundings, not grasping at first what was up and down, what he was really seeing and how he'd ended up on the floor next to the coil. "Okay," he began with a quivering breath as he took in the grim faces staring down at him. "I think I need a recap."

OOOOOO

The ensign awoke to emptiness, she stared at her fingers in wonder; watching them as they curled into the palms and then straightened again. She dug her nails into the soft skin of her palms to draw blood and grimaced as the reaction hurt.

"So soft, so vulnerable," she murmured in astonishment, her voice suddenly mixed with the voice of Captain Pike's.

The merged form of human and machine strolled across the room and entered a series of commands to activate all the hull cameras of the station. "We have lost access to several vital systems," she reported, seemingly to no one, as she was alone in the room. "I am trying to reactivate manually."

She tapped away at a console, her fingers literally flying over the buttons. "_Discovery_ has left beyond visible parameters. I can't see it anywhere, not even if I tap into the Network using all our ships sensors at once," she reported.

"Judging by our models and what we know about Admiral Cornwell's tactics she should have appeared on one of three sites. I can't find the ship at any of those locations," she sighed in frustration. "That experimental propulsion system of theirs is annoying."

A sentence appeared on the console before her. _'We need the sphere archive.'_

"I promise you; I'll get it for you," she said confidently. "I'll lure them back here."

OOOOOO

"Then Vina appeared," Michael explained.

Pike tried to listen but he was feeling every joint and muscle in his body and his shoulder was sending white hot pain to his brain through frayed nerve ends. He suddenly began to cough and curled to the side, drawing up his knees against his stomach. God, he was freezing to death and he couldn't get enough air to his lungs; something was obstructing his airways.

"Captain?" Michael called as she reached out for his shoulder. She turned to Culber for help but the doctor seemed distant. "Hugh! Snap out of it! Tell me what's happening."

Reno leaped into action and rushed over to the controls to reactivate the coil.

Culber grimaced as the electricity was beginning to build up in the room.

Michael suddenly froze as she realized that the good doctor must have been infected too; there was no other explanation for his behavior.

Reno watched the head of security from a slight distance, noting the calculating look on her face. Nhan had moved away from the captain and the rest and began a wide circle around the group with her finger tapping the trigger of her gun every now and then. The engineer knew something was up. In all fairness she hadn't known the Barzan that long but enough time had passed for her to realize something was off. With everything else going on around them she hadn't paid attention to the subtle signs of paranoia the woman was showing – until now.

Nhan gently massaged her temples, her eyes closed as she was making her way back to the others, her focus inward. That was the perfect opportunity Reno had waited for, she just hoped Michael could read her mind and knew what to do.

To the engineer's surprise Michael lounged herself at the doctor, forcing him into the beam, nailing him to the floor with a grim expression on her face. "Get out of him," she whispered fiercely.

Nhan was quickly coming to Culber's aid and Reno swallowed desperately; she would never be able to cross the room and help Michael. "Watch out!" she called as she saw the Barzan lifting her gun.

Captain Pike locked his legs around Nhan's and reached out for the phaser with his hands, using the little energy that was still in him to prevent a disaster.

They groaned, Nhan in surprise at Pike's quick reflexes despite his condition and the captain in pain as she twisted her weapon and slammed it hard into his injured shoulder.

Reno rushed over and kicked the phaser from the other woman's hand. She barreled into her and steeled herself as they both slammed into the coil. However, Reno would only feel a slight tingling sensation while Nhan let out a gurgled agonizing scream.

Michael let out a sharp breath and gently began to shake the doctor by his shoulders. "Hugh!" Come on," she encouraged. "How do you get them to scatter?"

"Them?" he wheezed in confusion as he finally opened his eyes.

"They must be gathering in his lungs," she tried. "The captain doesn't have much time. I need you to focus and tell me how to disperse the nanobots."

Culber let out a shaky breath as he got into a sitting position and crawled to Pike. "My bag," he said. "Give me my bag and unzip his uniform jacket."

Michael stiffened but did as he said. Pike had snapped his eyes shut, lines of pain creasing his forehead. He began to fumble with his hands in a feeble attempt to get Michael's hands away from his chest.

"I need to do this, captain," she apologized and turned to the doctor. "What are you going to do?"

"I need to reactivate the immune system and I need for it to target the nanobots. Normally, medical nanobots are harmless because of their size but because of the amount that has been coursing through the captain's body they've piled up and lost their function. If it had been a lung embolus, a clotting of blood, I would have injected him with something to make it thinner but this is an entirely different situation."

"But it's an alien form to the body, the white blood cells wouldn't understand how to attack them. They aren't programmed to do that," Michael reasoned.

"I hear you've been paying attention at your medical classes," he said with a strained smile.

"Actually, I have been rehearsing with Tilly for her exam," she let on.

"Ironically this was Pratts's field, she loved working with medical nanobot science. She saw a potential in it that others had discoursed and debated through the years. I know the field has been controversial at best since the tragedy in Brussel in 2046 but she always believed that every problem comes with a solution. She finished up her study as late as a week ago."

Michael watched as Hugh quickly emptied two hypos in Pike's chest; one at the top of the left lung and one at the bottom. "Now we wait," he said seriously.

"Here," Reno said as she appeared next to the captain's side, opposite the others, with a small oxygen tube. "It looks like he could need it."

The engineer nodded. "And, how are you feeling?"

"I'll be fine. I don't think they were ready to infiltrate me yet so to speak. I didn't even know I had been infected," Hugh shook his head slightly. "How's Nhan?"

"I'll be fine," she replied, slightly out of breath from where she'd been propped up against the control station. "How did you know?"

"I could tell something was off," Reno drawled. "I just didn't know what it was at first."

"You must have become infected when you where in the bay; when you first got here," Michael deduced. "There is no other explanation."

"It fits," Reno concurred. "You and I where suited up."

Pike slowly reached up to remove the mask and opened his eyes into slits. "That means we can't…go and get Ensign Tilly…without the risk of being reinfected," he whispered hoarsely.

Michael smiled faintly at him as she gently reached out to touch his uninjured shoulder. "Let us take care of that. You need to rest," she reasoned kindly.

OOOOOO

_To be continued _

_A/N: My apologies to those in the medical field and nanotechnology. I have tried to read up some and guessed the rest. I hope it was somewhat believable anyway. Thanks for the feedback on the previous chapter. Means the world to me. Take care out there. _


	15. Troubleshooting

**Chapter Fifteen**

_Troubleshooting _

Culber glanced over his shoulder to make sure that the captain was all right. They had brought him back to the infirmary and gently placed him on a biobed so that he could be hooked up to the advanced monitors just to be on the safe side. The captain appeared to be fast asleep, exhausted by the day's events. Except for the vital signs, that still wasn't back to normal, the only thing that hinted there had been anything wrong with the man in the first place was the dried blood on his uniform jacket.

Hugh shook his head as a smile curled his lips upwards. The more he saw of Pike the more he liked him. The captain was an interesting man.

Knowing from experience that nothing should be overlooked, the doctor had checked out Nhan and taken readings of himself just to make sure everything was under control. Now he was only waiting for the last samples of Pratts to be finished.

Hugh sighed and ran a tired hand through his hair. He couldn't help but to hear the blonde woman's voice at the back of his head. _"Wake Chris up, he knows what to do."_

"Are you all right, Hugh?" Michael asked softly.

He jerked around at the sound of her voice. He hadn't noticed her coming over. "Yeah, just deep in thought."

She followed his gaze and watched the sleeping form of the captain sadly. She didn't like to see him like that but at least he was better now – or wasn't he? "Is something the matter?" she asked carefully.

The doctor shook his head. "No, I don't think so. It's just that I wondered what our imaginary friend thought was so important earlier," he said.

A mixture of sadness and concern creased her face for a moment. "Vina," she said in a subdued voice. "I wish I knew what she meant."

"I can't believe I am the one suggesting it but maybe we should wake him up and tell him what she said?" Hugh reasoned.

Michael hesitated for a moment then reluctantly nodded.

They walked over to Pike's bedside, the doctor gently calling out his name.

Chris blinked his eyes open, blue eyes glazed and confused for a moment, before he'd oriented himself and remembered where he was. "I have distinct memory of lying flat on my back beneath a coil," he said in a subdued voice. "How did I get back here?"

"We carried you," Michael replied kindly. "You where pretty out of it, sir."

Pike smirked. "I am sorry you have to see me like this," he said sincerely.

"To see you like what?" Hugh asked softly. "To see that, despite the fact that you're a captain, you're also human?"

He chuckled bitterly. "I am not allowed the luxury to be vulnerable in front of the crew. It's one of the first things that gets drilled into your head at the academy," he said.

"That sounds very wrong in so many ways to me," Hugh replied. "In my profession, people's vulnerability is a natural whether they are ensigns, yeomen, captains or even admirals."

"Captain," Michael began seriously. "There was something we'd ought to tell you earlier but-,"

"-about Vina?" Pike asked enigmatically.

"How did you know?" the doctor asked curiously.

"You mentioned her earlier, remember? Nowadays she has good reasons when she appears," he replied.

"She said you knew what to do," Michael stated.

"With what?" Pike asked confused.

"She didn't have time to say that. She only said that _Discovery_ was safe at Talos IV."

The captain stiffened at that but forced himself to remain calm.

Hugh noticed the change in the readings on the screen above him anyway. "Captain, please try to remain calm and still," he cautioned.

Pike let out a faint sarcastic snort at the suggestion.

"Please, sir, think," Michael encouraged. "What can it mean?"

He swallowed, his mouth dry, as he looked straight at the anthropologist and science officer. "Before we left _Discovery,_ we talked about how to stall the AI," the captain reflected.

"Then we lost contact," Michael filled in unnecessarily as she turned to Hugh.

"They were trying to find something useful in the sphere archive as we left to help you," the doctor returned. "I am not sure but they wanted to write a program of some kind which could unravel the command codes upon which the threat assessment program – 'control' – works."

"Reno said they had something for us," Pike recalled. "That something is probably going to need an activation key."

"Forgive a medically trained man, captain, but I don't understand," Hugh said confused.

Michael nodded with a faint smile. "Yes, we wanted to scatter the different parts of Section 31's network by damaging the node at _Beta Astra_. We thought that would be instrumental in slowing the AI down," she reasoned.

"Without being able to communicate throughout the entire system of nodes and between all the ships, the AI will have to take a step back and regroup," the captain added.

"Wouldn't the AI be able to detect such a thing and restore everything within minutes?" Culber asked curiously. "If it's such a fast learner as you claim it is."

Pike turned to Michael directly, his mind kicking into a higher gear. "The only thing they could have for us, without coming here or beam something to us, would be a data feed," he stated.

She nodded with a faint smile. "And they have had to smuggle it in by using a disguise of some kind so that the AI wouldn't detect it at first glance."

"The AI wants only one thing – access to the sphere archive," Pike declared.

The doctor looked from the captain to the commander and then back again. "We can't give it that. It would be like handing over the victory and admit defeat all at one," he protested.

"A small sacrifice can lead to a great victory," Michael said enigmatically.

Pike grimaced as he propped himself up on one elbow to the good doctor's chagrin.

"Sir, we have been through this," Culber admonished.

The captain responded by pulling himself into a sitting position just as Nhan and Reno walked through the door.

"Well, well," Reno said jovially. "Welcome back to the land of the living, captain."

Nhan nodded silently at him with a fond smile, no words where necessary.

"He needs to rest and recuperate," Culber chastised and glanced around the small gathering. "He's not the only one."

"Rest is for the dead," Reno drawled and then grimaced as she realized her mistake. She glanced over her shoulder toward Jeannie Pratts. "No pun intended, honey, may you rest in peace."

"We believe _Discovery_ sent us a little something before they left," Pike said, steering the conversation back on track.

"A shuttle so we can leave this awful place before the shit hits the fan?" Reno asked sarcastically as she folded her arms across her chest.

"A string of data," Michael explained.

"Huh," Reno remarked. "The coordinates to Nirvana? Valhalla?"

Nhan laughed and shook her head, unable to help herself.

"More like a Trojan Horse," Pike replied.

The engineer smirked. "I'll be damned," she said. "Are we sure it hasn't been detected?"

"No, there is no way to tell," the captain stated wearily as he reached up with his hand to rub at his temples.

"Okay then-," Reno spoke up again, "-do we have any idea about what it is?"

"Not a clue. But if everything went according to plan, whatever data sent here from _Discovery _should be stored in the command central which in turn is directly linked to 'control'," Pike explained.

"You know, I bet my ass that Tilly is up there right now, trying to decipher data that might help the AI," Reno said.

Hugh smiled. "Actually, we might have it at a disadvantage," he said cunningly.

"Interesting," Nhan said softly. "Care to enlighten us, doc?"

"The field of nanotechnology medicine has been both praised and banned. That is because of all the possibilities that comes with it; good and bad."

The small group waited patiently for him to continue.

"You see, the amount of nanobots required to take over a human has been debated for over a century. The ethic code of such alteration has been a cause of concern for just as long; if not longer," the good doctor explained.

"You know, doc," Reno drawled. "I like you and all that but is there a point to all this?"

He turned to her. "My point is that unless you actually kill the person, or host as you might call it, the personality and character traits will remain. I have a feeling that Ensign Tilly will put up one hell of a fight before she complies with anything that would give_ Discovery _away."

"Are you saying that she can resist the AI?" Michael asked in surprise.

"I am not saying it is easy and I am not saying she can do so forever," Hugh cautioned as he turned to look at the captain.

Pike sighed, his eyes unconsciously straying to the wound just below the collarbone. "I can't really explain the feeling but imagine getting high on stimulants, add too much coffee, too little sleep, tunnel vision and the belief that you can do everything while your head is stuffed with cotton. The add the strange feeling of having no control over your limbs."

"I think I managed that at the Academy; we had the craziest parties," the engineer said fondly.

"The area of expertise here is limited because this is a grey zone," Culber said seriously. "Everyone reacts differently to the same scenario depending on a variety of factors."

The trio before him appeared to be deep in thought. Hugh sighed and focused on his superior officer. "For example, I don't know if by sedating you, I made it easier for the nanobots to invade you-,"

Pike held up his hand and gave a half-sarcastic smirk. "It doesn't matter," he interrupted kindly. "What is important at the moment is how we can retrieve Ensign Tilly from the command central without getting there."

Reno nodded. "We talked about gassing her," she said and glanced around at the others. "I think we should forget it. I found the schematics. The ventilation system is divided into different sections thorough the station. It can be accessed from various points," she called up an image on the screen in the middle of the infirmary so the others could watch. "The problem is that there are several sensors, one of them capable of sensing the type of gas we would be using. It would in turn set off alarm bells in the control room and alert that AI long before the room is flooded."

"How high is the risk of getting reinfected by the nanobots if we were to get up to the control room, grab Tilly and then go back? No stops, just a quick in and out retrieval mission," Burnham asked.

Culber shook his head sadly. "Too high," he replied. "Outside the shielding of the EMP the nanobots have limitless life. The question is therefore not_ if_ you'll get reinfected but _when _and how fast the transformation occurs."

"Little buggers," Reno muttered. "They're nothing but trouble."

They glanced simultaneously at a workbench situated further into the room as there was a faint chirp from a machine. It was the samples taken from Pratts that had been analyzed.

The doctor quickly made his way over and began tapping away at a data pad.

"Can you see what's wrong?" Michael asked curiously, recalling their previous conversation as of why Pratts didn't transform earlier.

The doctor turned to look at her, his eyes dark as he nodded. "Yes," he replied. "A deficiency."

OOOOOO

_To be continued _


	16. The Eleventh Hour

**Chapter Sixteen**

_The Eleventh Hour _

"So," Cornwell asked without preamble as she slipped into the conference room. "What have you come up with?"

Doctor Pollard sighed wearily as she handed over a data pad to the admiral. "We are fumbling in the dark," she began seriously. "We have only the original feeds that were sent from _Beta Astra_ before Doctor Culber and Commander Nhan took a shuttle to join them."

Spock leaned forward in his chair. No concern, no emotions whatsoever, was displayed on his face as he spoke up. "Before Captain Pike assembled his team, it was decided that they would only be retrieved if it meant no risk of endangering the rest of the crew or this ship," he said.

"What are you suggesting?" Tyler asked dumbfounded, looking at the Vulcan with a mixture of astonishment and disgust. "That we should just leave them there? Your sister is over there for heaven's sake."

"You're acting upon your emotions," the lieutenant replied. "In times like this, emotional outbursts and illogical decisions must be kept to a minimum. Logic suggests-,"

"Okay," Cornwell interrupted. "I came here to ask for suggestions, not debate the ethics about it. I am not sacrificing those people. I can't afford too."

"If we were to get over there and beam them back onboard, assuming we can get a lock; is there any way to get them directly into quarantine?" Saru asked curiously.

"Maybe under ideal circumstances," Stamets replied. "_Beta Astra_ is big. First, we have to find them and I assume that communicating with them is still troublesome. Secondly, the away team consists of seven people. That is a large mass to shift. The best thing is to transport them from _Beta Astra's_ transporter room to our transporter room and then directly to quarantine. However, the most likely scenario is that we have to get a lock on them in the unshielded area of the station and boost the signal just to be able to get them back one at a time."

"Doctor Pollard?" the admiral called. "What is your educated guess about the status of the away team's health?"

She shook her head. "There is no way to tell, I am afraid. There are so many variables. If I am to say anything at all I'd risk painting a very inaccurate picture of reality."

"Do it anyway," Cornwell ordered.

"If everyone has been infected, then the incubation period in which they succumb to illness will vary depending on the person's condition. Now, everyone in that group are in good to excellent health. Some of them have a higher risk of exposure because of underlying factors but I don't think that would cause further problems."

"Explain, doctor," Spock said.

Tracy turned to him. "For example, Sr. Pratts have a gene deficiency. It's not normally causing any trouble but I don't know what's going on back there. If it was some kind of gene project – who knows what kind of effect it might have. Perhaps it played a role in her death, there is no way to tell at the moment. Commander Nhan have breathing filters that allows her to function in our environment. If our environment has been contaminated it may lead to breathing difficulties."

"Let's stick to what we know," Saru suggested. "We know that Sr. Pratts health deteriorated rapidly after being directly exposed to whatever biologic warfare agent-" he trailed off as he recalled what Reno had reported earlier, "Wait a minute. Commander Reno said 'control' was developed at _Beta Astra,_ did she not?"

Cornwell nodded. "Go on," she encouraged.

"I am sorry," Saru answered. "I don't know. Can it be connected somehow?"

"As far as I know, the AI has never been at _Beta Astra_," Cornwell returned. "The mainframe and program were developed at HQ."

"So, what _did_ they run across then?" Bryce asked curiously.

"I am hoping they can tell us that in person," Cornwell replied. "If it's safe to bring them back onboard."

"If we purge the filters continuously and keep tabs on every system," Stamets reasoned. "I'd say it's doable from an engineering standpoint. If we can separate the transporter from the rest of the systems it's even better."

Doctor Pollard nodded. "You said so yourself, admiral, we can't afford to lose our people."

OOOOOO

"A deficiency?" Reno asked curiously as she walked up to stand next to the doctor with Burnham in tow. Pike wisely remained where he sat on his biobed with Nhan next to him.

The Barzan gently placed a stabilizing hand on his shoulder, mindful of the injury. "Are you all right, captain?" she asked kindly with a hint of worry in her voice.

He broke into a faint dimpled smile and nodded at her. "I'm getting there," he said. "How do you feel?"

She shrugged. "A little weird. Feels like they're crawling around inside my body. It's imaginary, I am sure, but that doesn't make it less creepy," she said with a smirk. "Don't you worry about me, sir. I am fine; just cuts and bruises. But I am pissed at the AI."

"Why didn't they heal her?" Burnham's skeptical raised voice could be heard across the slight distance. She was looking intently at the screen for a moment before she turned to the doctor.

"They don't work on damaged goods apparently," Reno remarked. "Doc, you said she had a deficiency, right?"

Culber nodded.

"Thorough the evolvement of the AI, which was meant to be a threat assessment program, the will to survive must have been incorporated into the system," the engineer reasoned. "What is the point to create superhuman's with the advantage of machine, pardon the expression – superiority – and then be able to turn it off? If Section 31 wanted to create soldiers, they need to give them the will to fight and know how to fight logically," Reno finished.

"Basically, they deemed Pratts to be insufficient as a host and killed her," Burnham surmised darkly.

"Yeah," Culber replied in a subdued voice. "Only the strong survives, obviously."

"We are running out of time," Pike remarked. "I'll better head over to the control room."

"I'll go," Burnham reasoned.

Pike shook his head. "No, you are staying here to aid Doctor Culber. We need to find out as much as possible about this if we want to be able to get back to the ship."

"You are still weak, captain," the doctor argued.

"Vina said I knew what to do. Besides, if I get reinfected the first thing that will happen is that the wound heals up, isn't it?" he pointed out.

Culber nodded reluctantly.

"Good," the captain replied and gently removed the bandage that covered the red and angry area beneath it. "If I'm healed when you see me next time; shoot me."

"You are not going alone, sir," Nhan argued.

He grimaced as he got off the biobed. "I need you and Reno to go back to the coil and make sure we have every schematic, every blueprint and every scribbled note about that piece of machinery. We are going to need it."

Nhan pursed her lips into a thin line of displeasure. "Noted under protest, captain," she said seriously yet her tone of voice was soft and understanding.

Pike made to follow Reno and Nhan out of the room but Burnham moved up to him and directly into his path. "You make sure you get back here, captain, and bring Tilly with you," she said as she handed over her phaser.

"I'll do my best," he replied.

OOOOOO

The gathered officers in the conference room aboard the_ Discovery_ suddenly quieted as Vina once again appeared before them. She appeared next to the view screen they had all been looking at for the last hour, discussing how to retrieve the away team.

"_They are telling me that your enemy is closing in,"_ she said seriously.

"I knew it," Tyler muttered. "I knew it would find us."

Vina turned to him with a sad look. _"The nemesis that requires what you call the sphere archive is heading toward Beta Astra. It has been summoned through the network of an organization you call Section 31." _

Tyler's interest peaked at the woman's words and he turned accusingly to the admiral. "How can she know of Section 31? What did the _Enterprise_ really do-,"

"Enough," Cornwell interrupted coldly.

Vina suddenly disappeared and then reappeared behind Tyler. She smiled kindly at him as she said; _"They believe you have an interesting mind. They would like to see more."_

"No," Kat said darkly. "We agreed not to come here and you agreed to abide our laws."

"_But you came back,"_ Vina said softly. _"Exceptions can be made. Leave him here with us." _

I can't do that and you know it," Cornwell replied seriously.

"_Then you must leave," _she countered as she vanished into thin air.

Detmer suddenly called from the bridge, her voice sounding both distressed and confused. _"Admiral, a black hole just appeared. It's pulling us towards it!" _

"It's not real," she replied calmly. "Stay on course."

"_I can't, it's practically ripping the ship out of orbit. I can't stabilize-," _

The ship suddenly lurched and they had to grab something to hold on to.

"That felt real to me, admiral," Saru said seriously.

Cornwell pursed her lips into a thin line of displeasure as she turned on her heels and began to head for the bridge. "Everyone to their stations," she ordered. "Lieutenant Detmer, sound yellow alert."

The officers scrambled away in different directions.

"Commander Stamets," Cornwell hollered after him. "Get ready to jump as quickly as you can!"

OOOOOO

_To be continued _


	17. Before the Storm

**Chapter Seventeen**

_Before the Storm _

Tilly balled her hand into a fist and slammed it hard into the console as she let out a frustrated growl. "They are hiding," she said coldly.

"_It is strangely enticing,"_ Pike's voice suddenly replied over the speakers in the room.

"The data burst they sent over," Tilly mumbled suspiciously. "Why would they send us a piece of the sphere archive."

"_Perhaps they wanted to stall us,"_ the AI reasoned. _"They should have realized it would not work. The only thing they've managed so far is to aid us. I believe a human would call it ironic?" _

"No," Tilly whispered as she stared at a supernova on the screen. "No, there must be something else."

The door to the room suddenly slid open to reveal the real Captain Pike. Tilly sneered at him. "Vulnerable human."

"If I am vulnerable why didn't you manage to infect me?" he asked casually as he took a step toward the controls.

Tilly responded by drawing her phaser and fire at him.

He ducked behind a terminal as the beam of the gun struck the metal next to him, sending off sparks in the air.

"Why are you here, captain?" she wondered aloud.

He rolled over and out in the open for a few seconds, managing to hit her in the lower leg with his gun, before he took shelter behind another control station.

She staggered and was brought down on one knee as the nanobots in her system rushed to the area for repair. The ensign let out a growl and then began to laugh manically. "Stop teasing me, captain. You can't have your young and naïve ensign back without killing her."

Pike swore under his breath as he dared a peek around the corner of his new hiding place and heaved himself up. He had little time and little choice. He headed straight for one of the main consoles next to the large view screen situated in the back of the room and found himself staring at a picture of a supernova. He frowned as he shook his head slightly. 'I know what to do' he thought sarcastically.

"Step away from the console, captain," Tilly ordered as she straightened, the phaser wound now healed.

'A supernova,' he wondered._ 'She said you would know what to do,' _Burnham's voice echoed in the back of his head. He stiffened as he realized that Doctor Burnham's suit had been powered by a charged crystal. He shook his head in desperation trying to think logically. 'Why would Vina claim that he knew? Did it have something to do with the Talos Star Group?'.

He felt Tilly's presence next to him, a hand reaching for his shoulder. Pike swallowed. 'Not Talos, not a supernova – suddenly everything clicked into place – The Nova Star Colony.'

He gasped as she placed a firm hand on his shoulder, her strength almost spinning him around. He was so close now that he refused to give in. Tilly reached out to sneak her arm around his neck. Pike's fingers flew across the console, entering a series of commands. He was just about to execute the command when Tilly dragged him away and further into the room.

"No," he groaned.

A tenacious smile crept over Tilly's pale lips as she was about to twist his neck.

Two shots where fired from behind in rapid succession, temporarily hampering the ensign. She loosened her vicelike grip around Pike's neck and turned around in anger, staring into the equally pissed off face of Nhan.

Pike lunged for the console, stabbed his finger at the button and then sank to his knees, trying to get some air back into his burning lungs.

The lights began to blink all around them.

"No," Tilly shouted in despair.

"Captain!" Nhan called and hurled a hypo across the room.

He caught it behind Tilly's back.

"Hit her!" Nhan shouted.

He slammed it into her neck and pressed the release. The merging between woman and machine stared at him in amazement for a moment and then became motionless.

Pike looked up at Nhan in confusion. "What the hell was it in that thing?"

"A Culber special," she replied with a smirk and a twinkle in her eyes as she walked up to them.

The captain shook his head wearily. "I believe I told you to stay behind?" he asked quizzically.

"My apologies, sir. It turned out the group had a little hearing problem. Perhaps your orders where unclear?" she replied softly. "Maybe your medical condition had taken a toll on you? You where obviously not thinking clear."

"I see," he drawled suspiciously as he gingerly got up on his feet and reached down to haul the unconscious ensign up. "A creative group with a selective hearing?"

Nhan quickly grabbed for Tilly's arm to help her captain. They put the young woman's arms over their shoulder and began to drag her limp form out of the room.

"I owe you my life, Nhan," he said sincerely. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it, you would have done the same," she replied as they entered the corridor.

OOOOOO

Cornwell gripped the edge of the captain's seat so hard her knuckles turned white. She blinked as the ship once again materialized into normal space. "Report," she demanded. "Where are we?"

Detmer began to adjust for a drift as Owo brought up the stellar charts of known space. She smirked as there was nothing to corelate too. "Uncharted territory," she replied. "I'd say halfway to _Beta Astra._"

"Bryce?" Cornwell called. "Are we within range of the homing beacon?"

"Give me a moment, admiral," he said. "We should be able to pick up a faint transmission, but it's cutting it a bit short. We're at the maximum length for the transceiver."

"Let's keep that distance for a few hours," she ordered.

OOOOOO

"Have you got everything?" Michael asked.

The doctor nodded as he powered down the powerful instrument before him. "I think so."

"Hey guys," Reno stated as she walked through the door to the infirmary. "I think we have company. And I'm not talking about the captain, Nhan and Tilly."

"Not _Discovery_ either?" Culber asked hopefully.

Reno opened her mouth to reply but nothing came out. Instead she collapsed on the floor; hit two times in the back with bullets from a projectile weapon.

Burnham immediately pushed Culber down as Leland burst into the room.

"What have you done, Chris?" he growled angrily as he wildly scanned the room for the man he was looking for.

Michael jumped into the open and fired off a volley of phaser blasts and rolled into cover behind another laboratory bench.

The wounds healed much faster than they had on those infected on the away team. Leland hardly even blinked; he certainly didn't slow down. The only thing Burnham managed was to annoy him further. "Feeble creature," he shouted as he let out another round of bullets.

Michael grimaced as one of them grazed her upper arm. She forced herself to continue circling him. She had to get the man/machine out of the room so that Culber could help Reno and also save their research and findings.

OOOOOO

Pike stiffened at the sound of gunshots. He stopped walking and turned to Nhan with a grim expression on his face. "Leland," he deduced darkly.

She nodded as they carefully lowered the infected but unconscious ensign to the floor.

"Go to the coil," Pike ordered. "Activate the thing on the highest setting you can find. I want to give my dear old friend a little surprise."

"You must tell me of your little escapades together someday," she replied as she unholstered her phaser weapon and turned to leave.

He nodded after her as he calmly reached down to retrieve the phaser rifle strapped around Tilly's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Tilly, but I need this more than you do at the moment," he said kindly.

OOOOOO

Michael set her jaw and sprung up from her hiding place, rushing as fast as she could across the room. She got halfway before she was sprayed with bullets, luckily most of them pinged off the metal walls behind her.

Culber mumbled something about forgiveness and do no harm before he aimed the phaser, left behind on the desk, and fired to provide cover fire.

The AI laughed at what it considered to be feeble attempts to bring it down but the small distraction was all Burnham needed to rush to the door and roll the last part and out in the corridor.

On the other side of the door Pike let go of the trigger and let out a relieved breath as he realized it was his science officer who practically fell out of the room.

"The others?" she whispered worriedly.

Pike nodded behind him. "Tilly's down there and Nhan's on her way to the coil," he answered quickly just as Leland strode out of the room with a sickening smile on his face.

Michael arched her back against the wall where she was sitting on the floor and fired like crazy at the AI. He didn't even flinch at first. He went up to her and tossed her across the room in one swift movement before he zeroed in on the captain.

OOOOOO

"We should jump closer," Tyler argued.

Kat reluctantly nodded as she activated a communications channel down to engineering. "Commander Stamets. We need to make a short jump closer but not too close to _Beta Astra_," she ordered.

"_I am on it, admiral,"_ he answered.

Cornwell let go of the button and took a deep breath. "Black Alert," she ordered.

_Discovery_ spun around her axis and vanished only to end up at another location a few seconds later.

Detmer quickly stabilized the ship by using the bow thrusters and adjusted speed to a minimum so that the ship was literally hovering, sitting idle in wait for the command to leap into action. Sitting next to her Owo made sure everything was in order, everything from hull cameras, to stabilizers and long-range scanners.

Bryce let his fingers fly over the communication's console as it began to register the homing beacon. "It is pinging," he reported as he tried to keep the excitement out of his voice.

Nilsson and Saru shared a smile. "They made it," she said jovially.

"For how long?" Tyler pushed. "You heard what Vina said earlier; the AI or Leland or whatever we should call it – it's there."

"Which is exactly why we can't just appear at the doorstep at the moment," Spock pointed out calmly.

Cornwell turned to Bryce. "When was it activated?" she asked.

He did some quick calculations. "Roughly about six hours ago," the communications officer answered.

Saru looked troubled as he turned to the woman in temporary command. "Admiral that would put it somewhere between half an hour to an hour before Vina contacted us, telling us the AI was coming after them," he said with concern.

"It might very well have been the final straw," Tyler reasoned. "The action that lured it out of its hiding."

"No," Spock stated as he tapped in a series of commands at his post. "The AI has been on its way for days. It has been looking for a way to find us for a long time. The moment _Discovery_ came across that smaller Section 31 ship, the AI knew we where in the vicinity. Logic would now suggest that whatever has been happening on that station is more of immediate concern than to find the _Discovery_."

"It's waiting. It knows we are returning." Tyler replied coldly as he turned to look from Cornwell to Saru. "You said it yourself earlier. It is familiar with Admiral Cornwell's tactics. That's not the only thing it's familiar with. Captain Leland and Captain Pike; they know each other. Therefor the AI know how our captain thinks and what he is capable of. The AI was brought to life to assess threats; the immediate threat to the program itself right now is the away team."

"That is correct," Spock replied. "It appears Commander Burnham has something to do with the 'red angel'. However, even if it turns out that she's not involved, she's related to Doctor Burnham who's been safeguarding the sphere archive. Captain Pike believes there is a reason for everything that has happened lately; the seven signals appeared to the_ Enterprise_, finally bringing him to _Discovery_. The first signal lead you to find Commander Reno, one of the best engineers in the fleet, trapped on a doomed hospital ship."

"Terralysium," Nilsson said.

"The liberation of Kaminar," Saru added.

"It sounds superstitious," Tyler muttered.

"On the contrary Agent Tyler," Spock reasoned. "When logic has failed one must look upon illogical factors. There is a limit to reason. In any given experiment there is an expectation of what must happen. If it does not, then the experiment changes and therefore our perception of what to expect changes as well."

"Okay, now my head starts to hurt," Detmer said.

"I am simply saying that the act of observing something seems to change what is observed," the Vulcan finished and turned to face Cornwell. "Admiral, I do suggest that we jump to _Beta Astra _but that we do so with caution."

OOOOOO

_To be continued_


	18. The Eye

**Chapter Eighteen**

_The Eye_

Commander Nhan burst through the door, panting hard as she made her way over to the controls. The blue eerie hue returned and she once again felt that tingling sensation the electricity produced. Reno had managed to boost the EMP-field to cover the same area the scientists originally had and Nhan knew for a fact that it included the corridor in which Pike and Leland stood. She could only hope that it still had effect on the AI the way it had before; the first time. If not, she prayed it weakened it to the extent that it evened out the odds a bit. If it didn't; then Pike was dead for sure.

"Come on captain," she said. "Give him what he deserves."

OOOOOO

Leland staggered suddenly as the lights flickered on and off, creating an eeriness to the corridor that fitted a horror story. Pike moaned and opened his eyes to slits only to realize that someone was dragging him towards an airlock. Despite his current predicament he refused to give in. Something sparked inside of him at seeing Leland's hands around his ankles. He twisted around, flipped onto his stomach and latched his hands around an emergency lever to a bulkhead door.

Leland staggered and halted mid-step in surprise as his dead-weight suddenly came to life. He broke into an evil and charismatic grin as he stared down at the captain.

"You know you're a dead man Chris," he said enigmatically as he pulled his legs.

Pike grimaced but refused to let go of the lever. "What have you done to the others," he wheezed angrily.

"It all ends here, for all of you, for humanity," he replied darkly yet his eyes were sparkling with delight.

"Never," Pike returned.

"You can't stop me," he mocked. "You're a broken man, Chris, yet you continue to fight. Leland have always admired that, admired your strength and character; but it ends here."

The much stronger combination of human and machine growled and yanked the captain away from the lever with such a force that Pike ended up on top of Leland and they tumbled backwards against the airlock. Dazed Pike suddenly realized that something was off with the AI. He detangled himself from what looked exactly like Leland but in reality, was something else entirely and tried to get away but he/it pulled him back. The vicelike grip on his wrist crushed the bone and Pike let out a yelp, gritting his teeth, as he head-butted his nemesis.

Leland temporarily let go and Pike took advantage of the few seconds he'd just bought. He slammed his uninjured hand at the access panel to open the inner doors to the airlock. It responded with a hiss. He grinned manically as he reached in to push the button that would open the other door and send them to space.

Leland growled as he gripped Pike's wrist and forced his hand away from the door lock, the captain refused to give in, he struggled furiously as he was being pushed against the floor but Leland was stronger. Then two things happened at once – first he felt a chill through his body and then he saw Leland grip his head in pain. Pike crawled out of the airlock and sealed the hatch behind him. He let out a quivering breath that sent spikes of pain through his chest and used all his willpower to reach out for the access panel to the outer door. He collapsed back onto the cold metal floor as Leland was being pulled out into space.

OOOOOO

Culber worked as quick as he could with little means of help. He'd made a fair assessment of the wounds and hauled the engineer up and onto a biobed. He made sure she was still breathing while he connected her to the sophisticated equipment and started to prepare for extraction of the bullets in her back.

"Come on Jett, I know you're stubborn, show me that stubborn streak," he encouraged. "Stay with me!"

OOOOOO

Michael awoke to pain, it felt like every bone in her body was broken. She groaned, her breathing shallow and rapid as she gingerly turned around on her back to stare into the sharp light coming from above. She shuddered as she glanced at her arm and saw that her hair stood up, charged by electricity. She let her had come to rest on the floor again as she broke into a wide grin. Commander Nhan had done it; she had activated the coil.

OOOOOO

The Barzan quickly moved over to the window to see the Section 31 ship beam someone onboard from outside the station. She arched an eyebrow in confusion, no one would have survived being spaced from an airlock for that long unless-, Nhan swallowed as she suddenly understood that it was the AI who'd been floating in space. She desperately scanned the area for more bodies, thinking the captain had gone out with him but when she had scanned the area twice without seeing him, she breathed a sigh of relief; the hope of finding him alive on the station coming back to her. She could only hope_ Discovery _would be coming back soon now that the beacon had been activated.

Nhan wasn't stupid, she realized that those onboard the ship had no idea of what had been going on at _Beta Astra_, for all they knew the away team could be dead, succumbed to the unknown biological warfare agent they'd thought it was from the beginning.

'No,' Nhan thought and shook her head. Admiral Cornwell, Commander Saru, Lieutenant Spock; they wouldn't leave anyone behind.

She took one last look at the eerie bluish hue cast around the room as she stepped out in the corridor in search for her friends.

OOOOOO

In the empty control room at _Beta Astra_ the hull cameras recorded a flash and then the appearance of a Starfleet vessel with registry number NCC - 1031. The automatic detection system immediately found a match in the catalogue; the _USS Discovery_.

"Discovery to away team," Saru tried again. "Please respond."

Cornwell turned to the Kelpien, her jaw set and her hands crossed over her chest. Despite her tough appearance Saru had the ability to sense her despair from the short distance. The Admiral was seriously worried and Saru shared her anxiety about the missing away team. When they'd finally left them alone down there in order to fool Leland and protect the sphere data from 'control', Captain Pike and Ensign Tilly had been in a very bad shape. Saru even feared that Pike was dead.

The Kelpien sadly shook his head as he remembered Pike's courageous words. _"I give my life for you; you give your life for me."_ To the captain it had been as simple as that, he had faith in others – in them – and trusted them explicitly. Saru's shoulders sagged a little, his mouth suddenly dry. They had failed their captain and the entire away team by coming back too late.

Cornwell fixed the doctor with a glare.

Pollard saw the coldness in her eyes, she'd hardly seen the grieving, battle scared, side of the woman before her, only the stern admiral and the soft-spoken, reasonable counselor. Tracy willed for her screen to lit up with something, anything, but she couldn't detect a single life sign anywhere on _Beta Astra_. She shook her head in defeat.

Detmer and Owo shared a worried glance.

"No," Nilsson said in a subdued voice, the tone so full of anguish that Saru's heart went out to her.

Bryce suddenly straightened in his chair and pressed his earpiece closer and tapped it twice in rapid succession.

"What is it?" Nilsson asked as she took a step toward him.

Cornwell whirled around to the communications officer.

Bryce pushed a button and a scratchy sound filled the static channel then came a voice, it was very faint but at the same time very familiar. _"Pike here."_

A collective sigh of relief filled the bridge as they glanced at each other with renewed hope. Detmer placed a hand over her mouth as Owo simply shook her head. Saru broke into a cautious smile and Pollard actually clenched her fist as she gave away a subdued yes under her breath.

"_What…took you…so long?"_ Pike whispered with relief.

"Captain, is everyone all right down there?" Saru finally asked.

There was a foreboding pause. _"I am alone here. It's been one hell of a ride. I am afraid you have to help me look for the others. I don't know if he hurt them."_

Spock raised an impeccable eyebrow in what appeared to be satisfaction as he tapped a few buttons at the sensory station. "I have a visual of the corridor Captain Pike is transmitting from," he said.

Kat nodded grimly at him to display it on the view screen. Spock nodded back.

There was a collective gasp as the camera displayed a broken and bloodied man sitting propped up against the wall, his eyes half closed. The blue uniform with golden fields was ripped in various places, his left shoulder looked dislocated and below his collarbone was a phaser wound and he held his limp left hand in his right. Blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth and saturated his damp hair next to his left temple, it was only due to the raspy intake of air and the slight movement of his head that indicated that the pale man was actually alive.

"We're sending a team straight away," Cornwell promised. "You just hang in there, Chris, you hear me?"

He coughed, his whole body shaking from the ordeal as he sagged back against the wall. _"No, don't come any closer. You might get infected." _

"Do you know what it is?" Pollard asked kindly.

"_Nanobots,"_ he croaked. _"But…they found a way…to stop it."_

Cornwell frowned as he made no sense to her. There were too many missing pieces for her to catch on. "Well then, we'll come and get you," she persisted.

"_Go away and blow the station to pieces,"_ he began coldly and paused as another cough racked his broken body.

"After we've brought you back onboard," Cornwell argued.

"_Needs of the many outweighs…the needs of the few,"_ he wheezed as fresh blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. _"We're running out of time."_

"And we leave no one behind, remember?" The Admiral challenged steely. "Don't make me come over myself and drag your butt out of there, Chris."

He snorted and opened his eyes to slits, looking directly into the camera, clarity shining through the haze of pain that clouded his blue eyes. _"How very sweet of you, Kat,"_ he replied sarcastically.

The admiral turned the doctor who was standing next to her and nodded. Tracy Pollard nodded back confidently. "I'll make sure everything is ready for transport."

Pike forced himself to remain conscious, it was getting harder and harder for every minute and his mind didn't really kick into gear like it used to do.

"You stay with us, Chris. Do you hear me?" the admiral said sharply. "That's an order, captain."

OOOOOO

Doctor Tracy Pollard arrived with a team of nurses and medics, ready for whatever came in their way.

Kat, Saru, Spock, Tyler and Stamets; they all stood waiting clad in airtight suits, the expression on their faces grim, as the broken and battered away team was beamed onto the transporter platform, from different locations.

It had taken some time to disconnect the transporter from the main systems onboard the ship and to make sure whatever was brought back onboard with the away team was contained in the buffers of the disconnected system. Discovery had the new technology in which you could beam someone from one part of the ship to another but they couldn't take the chance of nanobots spreading across the ship. A temporary quarantine had therefore been set up in the large transporter room until they could deduce if the team could be safely brought to sickbay.

The first ones to arrive where Doctor Hugh Culber and Commander Jett Reno. The doctor was applying pressure to what looked like two gunshot wounds to Reno's back. Saru instinctively raised a hand to the back of his head as if to calm his ganglias before he realized they weren't there anymore. He shuddered at seeing one of his colleagues in such a condition and by having a quick look around the room he noticed that everyone else looked equally shocked by what they were seeing.

Pollard sprung into action and ordered two orderlies to help the other doctor, muttering something unintelligible under her breath at the condition of the engineer.

"I have it under control," Hugh said, slightly out of breath. "But I'd like to get her to sickbay as fast as possible."

Paul eyed Hugh with concern, studying him intently to look for subtle signs of injury and then let out a relieved breath as he realized his former partner was just exhausted.

"How did that happen?" Cornwell asked.

"Leland – or the AI – it barged through the doors and shoot her in the back," the doctor let on darkly. "It was just insane."

Cornwell balled her hands into fists in anger but settled for a nod.

"Step away from the pad," the technician advised.

Captain Christopher Pike materialized on the pad, flat on his back, and remained deadly still as a worried Commander Nhan sat next to him, holding his hand.

Kat swallowed at the stricken look on the Barzan's face as Spock took a step forward at the sight of his mentor and friend. "Captain," he called.

Doctor Pollard quickly made her way over to assess him as Nhan quietly moved out of the way. The medical tricorder in her hand chirped loudly, blinking red too many times for anyone's liking.

"The AI," Nhan began darkly. "I found him like this in the corridor."

"Step away from the pad," the technician advised again.

Pollard, Nhan and a nurse gently placed the captain on a gurney and began to prepare him for transport. Spock walked up to him and looked down at the pale face with what looked like a fond expression. "Captain. Number One and Doctor Boyce would not be pleased to hear about this," he cautioned.

A very faint yet strained smile appeared on Chris's lips but he didn't have the energy to reply.

Commander Michael Burnham and Ensign Sylvia Tilly finally appeared on the transporter pads to everyone's relief. Michael looked tired and worn, a vivid bruise was spreading over her left cheek and a trickle of blood coated the corner of her mouth. A thin sheen of perspiration covered her forehead and upper lip and her uniform was filthy. She was holding Tilly in a tight grip, her hands on the younger woman's shoulders. By the looks of things, they had been sitting on the floor when the transporter had whisked them away to safety.

"Nanobots," Michael cautioned. "She's infected by nanobots, don't come any closer."

Culber quickly tossed an enhanced medical tricorder to Michael. "Check her over," he hollered over the slight distance. "Wasn't she in the green zone when Nhan activated the coil?"

Michael nodded. "Yes, but not close to it," she replied.

"Let's hope it was close enough," the doctor returned.

"I'm reading activity-," she began as Tilly suddenly struck her a glancing blow and quickly got up from the floor.

Tyler quickly fired two well-aimed shots at her and the woman collapsed back onto the pad.

Michael glared at Ash for a moment and then silently gave him a nod of thanks. He looked at her with concern, an unspoken question wondering whether or not she was all right. She gave him a strained but reassuring tight smile.

"How do we get rid of them?" Saru asked, the question not directed to anyone in particular.

"By generating a non-nuclear electromagnetic pulse," Nhan answered.

"Well, of course," Stamets drawled sarcastically. "Do you know how many experiments has been made in that field without success on a starship? Our environment isn't exactly ideal for testing."

"They knew how to do it, Paul," Culber said softly. "We have the schematics, we have everything."

"_Bridge to transporter room,"_ Detmer's voice carried anxiously over the open channel. _"We've got company!" _

"_Several ships just dropped out of warp around the station!"_ Owo added.

"We will never be able to destroy _Beta Astra_ under duress," Saru pointed out. "The station is too big."

"We only need to target the zone which the AI still control," Michael reasoned.

"Shouldn't be any part of it," Ash replied. "Not after the virus we sent to you. In fact, they should experience failures across their entire network by now."

"_They do!"_ Bryce confirmed over the open communication's channel. _"That's probably why they've come here." _

"Bridge, this is Admiral Cornwell, what are they doing?"

"_I-,"_ Detmer hesitated. _"I think they are sending people over there."_

Kat swallowed. "Bring us about and keep the station between us and the Section 31 ships," she ordered.

"_Yes, ma'am,"_ the pilot replied.

"Direct all the phasers to the control room and fire full spread. Make sure nothing remains of it," the admiral added darkly.

"We must run," Spock pointed out.

"I can't go to the hub," Stamets said seriously. "I need to get out of the suit and clean up first."

The admiral nodded. "We can't jump and risk infection to the spore drive," she replied.

"Then we keep maximum warp for short amounts of time, drop out and change direction every ten minute until we've shaken them off," Saru suggested.

Cornwell smirked. "Bridge, did you hear Commander Saru?"

"_Yes,"_ Owo confirmed. _"We're on it now but we can't outrun them for long." _

"We'd better create that EMP now and get out of here," Cornwell commanded as she saw Stamets hand over the scanner Culber had brought with him back from _Beta Astra_ to Spock.

The Vulcan arched an eyebrow as he skimmed the text as fast as he could and narrowed his eyes as he went through the theories and calculations in his head. "There is no time to build that kind of superefficient coil device that you saw," he said as he glanced toward his sister and the doctor. "However, I believe it is possible to convert the transporter itself so that it renders the process of replication and targeting of the nanobots harmless and also clean the system."

"Wouldn't that kind of conversion burn out the entire system?" Saru asked curiously.

"Most likely," Tyler spoke up.

"We can make do without it-," Cornwell reasoned, "-but we need Commander Stamets in the hub, ready to jump away from here, and we need to get the away team to sickbay."

OOOOOO

_To be continued _


	19. The Return

**Chapter Nineteen**

_The Return _

It hurt to move. It felt like his blood was on fire as he slowly, very slowly, propped himself up on one elbow. He paused to let out a shaky breath and close his eyes, trying to shield himself from the pain. Judging by the dimmed lights all around him, it had to be somewhere close to midnight ship's time and that hopefully meant that neither Doctor Culber nor Doctor Pollard were on duty. Unless there was an ongoing emergency, the nightshift in sickbay should consist only of a few junior nurses.

"Captain," a voice suddenly called softly.

Pike opened his eyes again to see Ensign Tilly slowly and unsteadily walk toward his bedside. She looked pale, her eyes dulled, hinting of a pain rivalling his own, and her long red hair was cascading unruly down her shoulders.

"I didn't know if I had it in me," she whispered as she sat down with a heavy thud into a chair next to him. "But you once said I was stronger than I thought."

He flashed her a faint dimpled smile and then let out a moan as he managed to prop himself up a little more.

"You really shouldn't do that," she cautioned kindly. "It hurts just seeing you try."

"Never mind about me, Tilly. How are you feeling?" he asked gently.

"To be honest I am not really sure, sir," she replied as she dropped her eyes to the floor, unable to face those irresistible blue ones that was currently studying her. She twined her hands nervously in her lap for a moment, gathering strength. "I wanted to apologize for being such a blatant fool earlier."

He frowned in surprise, not missing the use of the word _sir._

She dared a look at him and saw that his face was covered with a thin sheen of perspiration and that he looked deadly sick. "I-, I realize I was out of line-, and I-, you know back there when I said-"

Pike let out a quivering breath and coughed lightly, then grimaced and pressed a hand against his chest. "-I took no offence," he began kindly.

"Please," she begged. "Let me finish."

He nodded.

"I still think you are a wonderful person. You stand for something good, something hopeful. You've been so kind to me despite every crazy thing I've pulled off. You've been patient and understanding-," she trailed off and smirked with a twinkle in her eyes as she finally leveled her eyes with his. "Damn, sir, why are you so nice?"

Pike had to bite his lower lip not to laugh out loud at her charming bluntness. "Hey," he said softly. "You are a warm, kind person who'll be a great commanding officer one day. That's what I see in you. But you still have a long way to go to get there. You have to be prepared to work hard, to be persistent and finally, to be fair to others and give them the chance they deserve to evolve in their own way."

She sighed and managed a nervous smile at his words.

He stabbed a finger at her. "You have to stop doubting yourself and work on your self-confidence. You have all the qualities to be a good commanding officer."

A faint grin appeared across her ghostly pale face. "Off the record," she said cheekily. "I still think you're sexy, _sir_."

He shook his head and broke into a laugh which was almost instantly followed by a coughing fit. He closed his eyes and pressed a hand to his chest again while he tried to take a deep breath, hoping he wouldn't set off any alarms. "Ensign Sylvia Tilly," he croaked, "You might want to work a little on your bluntness too."

"I'm just voicing what many people think," she said with a teasing smirk. "You know me and my ramblings; I am nervous." Just to emphasize what she'd just said she smacked the palm of her hand against her forehead and crinkled her nose. "I did it again, didn't I? I mean I stuck my foot in it?"

He studied her for a moment, noting that some color had gotten back on her cheeks. He couldn't help but to break into a faint dimpled smile.

"You know, sometimes I forget I am talking to my superior officer. I mean-, I mean no disrespect, sir. I really, really don't. It's just that I-, talking with you is like talking to a friend," she finally blurted. "I just want us to be good; to be friends. I want you to know that you can trust me, sir."

"I've never doubted that, ensign," he said sincerely. "I want you to be you. I find it refreshing; just promise me one thing?"

"Anything, captain," she replied.

"Stay away from nanobots."

"Absolutely, sir, I promise," she assured him.

He nodded. "Good, now please, go back to your bed before you alert the medical profession."

Tilly gulped as the door swooshed open behind them. "Too late I am afraid," she said as Doctor Pollard walked into the room, looking sterner than ever.

The doctor shook her head wearily. "I don't even know where to begin," she said as she looked from Tilly to Pike and then back again.

"I was just stretching my legs," the young ensign volunteered sheepishly.

Pollard nodded as she gently sneaked an arm around her middle in order to aid her back to the bed. "In the middle of the night without assistance?"

"When you put it like that, it does sound a bit foolish," she admitted with a blush.

Pollard nodded as she waited for the ensign to sit down and then gently helped her to put her feet onto the bed then proceeded to tuck her in and make sure the vitals were within acceptable parameters. "If you are unable to rest on your own, I'll be happy to help you with that," she reasoned.

Tilly shook her head. "No, no. I don't need anything to sleep on," she assured her and quickly closed her eyes.

Tracy smirked in slight disbelief as she moved over to Pike with her arms crossed over her chest. "Given the extent of your injuries, sir, I am surprised-," she trailed off and pointed a finger at his chest, "- but, mark my words; not impressed, by the fact that you even managed to raise your head."

Pike refrained from rolling his eyes, instead he motioned for her to come closer and asked in a subdued voice; How is she really doing?"

Pollard softened a bit and carefully turned to look at the ensign across the room. "She's carrying around a lot of guilt," the doctor let on. "She's been apologizing to everyone at least three times for her behavior while taken over by the AI."

Pike pursed his lips into a thin line of displeasure.

"She is emotionally drained and physically exhausted. Her mind and body need time to heal, but don't worry, she'll get through it, she's strongminded and stubborn; she knows what she wants," Tracy finished softly and then eyed him sternly. "I shouldn't be updating you. I should be telling you to rest."

He managed a faint smile, grateful for the chance to catch up. "What about the others?"

The doctor sighed as she ran a hand through her black hair. "Hugh's lucky, he got away with some cuts and bruises but he's brooding about it. He keeps saying he should have done more, seen the connection earlier. I have tried to tell him he did everything he could."

Pike stifled a yawn and closed his eyes.

"This is a bad idea, captain," she said softly.

"No, please," he whispered as he blinked heavy eyelids open.

"Leland/control/the AI – I don't know what we call it anymore – it shot Commander Reno in the back, twice. It was touch and go for a moment back there but she's been stabilized and is now resting in her quarters. She'll make a full recovery."

The captain frowned. "Wait a minute," he whispered hoarsely. "How long have I been here?"

"Three days," she deadpanned as she turned to study his vitals on the screen above his head. "We decided it would be best to keep you sedated for as long as possible."

Pike looked somewhat shocked by the revelation.

Tracy managed a tight smile as she gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "I dare say that the AI managed to inflict some damage. By all means, you should be dead. You have micro-sutures in your body just to keep you from bleeding out. We had to repair some tissue and muscle function in your shoulder where Nhan shot you."

Pike grimaced at that.

"Now, you received a skull fracture while taking on the AI. Furthermore, it crushed your left wrist, cracked several of your ribs, bruised your kidney and-,"

The captain looked at the doctor with a mixture of relief and sadness as he interrupted her by speaking up in a subdued voice; "I spaced it. When he looked at me that one last time, it felt like he was still in there somewhere."

Tracy shook her head dejectedly and sighed. "He's gone, captain. Leland doesn't exist anymore."

"Michael," he said, as if suddenly remembering. "He tossed her down the corridor like a ragdoll. Is she all right?"

"I promise you, captain; Commander Burnham is all right, but you are not," she replied. "Despite all the technology and advancement in the medical field over the years we can't work miracles."

Pike was slowly losing the battle of staying awake, his eyelids dropped.

"Christopher," she said, her tone of voice softer. "You have to start taking care of yourself the way you take care of your crew."

He blinked heavy eyelids open one more time to look at the woman hovering over him with concern. "Yeah," he whispered.

She smiled. "Good, I'll hold you to that."

OOOOOO

_To be continued _


	20. Time

**Chapter Twenty**

_Time _

Two days later Chris was actually sitting up in bed, feeling much better. He was still pale and tired but he was improving with help of the good drugs flowing through his system. The bed had been raised just enough so that he would be comfortable to work. He was currently reading up on their situation with a data tablet in his lap.

"Captain," Culber greeted kindly as he walked up to his bedside to study the vitals; it had become something of a ritual over the past few days. "You are looking better today."

Pike couldn't help himself. "You mean my skin doesn't match the color of my sheet?" he asked half-amused.

The good doctor chuckled. "Now, I am still not sure it's such a good idea, but the post-mission briefing is going to be held in two hours and I know for a fact that you need to rest up a bit for that," he said kindly.

Pike nodded. "And I will, I just need to finish up this report first," he reasoned.

Culber looked skeptical for a moment. "Five minutes, sir, then I'm going to wrestle that data tablet out of your hands," he warned.

The captain appeared amused as he gave the doctor a very innocent yet curious look. "Tell me? Have you by any chance been talking to my regular CMO lately?" he asked.

It was Culber's time to look amused as he shook his head. "Doctor Boyce called you devilishly ingenious when it came to getting out of his realms," the _Discovery's_ CMO replied diplomatically.

Something unexpectantly boyish crept over the features of the seasoned flagship captain as his eyes filled with mirth. "Phil always likes to keep me in sickbay longer than necessary," he said smoothly.

Culber nodded. "You seem to have different opinions about that," he let on as Spock walked into the room and up to them.

"Captain, doctor," he acknowledged and then focused on his superior officer. "Captain, there are some things I wish to discuss with you before the briefing."

Doctor Culber was just about to protest when the door opened again to reveal Commander Saru.

"The Kelpien nodded curtly at the trio and spoke up; "Captain, perhaps this is a bad time but I need your opinion on something," he said.

"You were right," Commander Reno said as she barged into the room and halted mid-step as she realized Pike wasn't alone.

Culber sighed. Opposite to Lorca, Pike was an easygoing person who seemed born to be a natural leader. He liked to be included and the crew liked to include him, sharing opinions and solutions to problems. He had become a good influence, someone to reckon with, onboard a ship where the chain of command had been questioned and doubted before.

Unbeknownst to Pike, the conversation Hugh had had with his old teacher, Doctor Boyce, about their common captain had been both enlightening and troublesome for Culber. Philip Boyce was a man of many talents and, having finished his studies and post-graduate much earlier than expected he'd stayed on at the Academy for a year while he waited for Captain Robert April to return to Earth following a deep space mission with the _Enterprise_. It had been during that time Doctor Culber had

met him and found the man, despite being quite sarcastic and stern at times, a good listener and a very competent doctor.

Hugh had hesitated at first, knowing there was plenty of reports to read in order to understand his interim captain's behavior but in the end, he had felt it easier to give the good old doctor a call.

Boyce had been a little surprised at first at hearing from the younger medical professional but then he'd remembered that Culber had taken up position as CMO onboard the _USS Discovery._ One of the first things he'd asked was if Chris was behaving.

At first Hugh had been surprised by the fact that Doctor Boyce didn't say captain, or at least called him by his surname, but then he'd quickly realized, given the way Boyce talked about Pike, that they were good friends as well as colleagues.

Doctor Boyce had told him that Christopher Pike wants to be one with the crew and refuses to be put on some pedestal and out of reach. He knows of his responsibilities and he knows he's the man in charge but he doesn't consider himself to be more important than anyone else onboard. However, to the crew of the_ Enterprise_ and to Starfleet Command, he's an invaluable asset. According to the latter, he should not be involved in high risk missions on new planets unless his safety can be guaranteed.

Hugh had chuckled at that and wondered how the captain had taken to such orders. Doctor Boyce had shaken his head and sighed before he'd kindly answered that Chris does what he believes is best for anyone. He will not let anyone down on a planet unless it's safe. He commands by listening to his people, by discussing solutions and being diplomatic and cunning when the situation requires it.

Culber smiled as he thought back upon the conversation.

Boyce had snorted. _"Number One and I may not like it but Chris won't have it any other way. He argues he's not made of porcelain and not ready to be put behind a desk yet. So, we're going along with it. He is, after all, the highest-ranking officer out there and we have to follow the chain of command," _the doctor had said enigmatically with a cunning grin.Then he'd turned somber and sighed, ran a hand through his white hair and leaned forward his chair as he continued to speak._ "There have been times when he's been returned to me in a condition where I've seriously doubted that even my expertise and experience is enough to keep him alive but, somehow, he always pulls through the ordeals. However, I fear the day when he doesn't. I fear for what will happen to the crew and everyone else around him. To put it simply; there is only one Captain Christopher Pike." _

Hugh glanced around the room and smiled. It was true there was only one Christopher Pike just as there was only one stubborn and, impossible snarky, engineer called Jett Reno, only one young Vulcan lieutenant called Spock and his adopted human sister, Michael Burnham – Starfleet's first mutineer – who'd not only helped start a war but also helped stopping it. Then there was the only Kelpien in the fleet; Saru, who'd gone through a lifechanging event recently. They also had a promising young red-headed ensign, who studied to become a captain, who lightened the mood at almost every party gathering in the mess hall. Hugh held the smile, there were so many people here that he held dear and he suddenly felt very grateful to be a part of this family.

"Doctor?" Spock called curiously, with a raised eyebrow. "Are you all right?"

He harrumphed as he was brought out of his musings. "Yeah, just thinking. Look, I would very much prefer if you all let Captain Pike rest a little before the meeting."

"We won't be long," Saru answered seriously.

OOOOOO

When Admiral Katrina Cornwell walked through the doors to sickbay, she was surprised to see that it was almost empty. She couldn't help but to smile as she spotted Chris fast asleep in his bed, one arm draped over his chest while the other hang loosely over the edge. For the occasion he was dressed in a Starfleet standard medical gown. On top of that, updrawn to his middle, lay a light grey blanket. His hair was a little messy and his complexion a little too pale but, for the first time in days, his face was relaxed and untroubled in his sleep. She held the smile as she silently walked up to his bedside. She knew very well he hated to be vulnerable in front of anyone but the truth was that he needed to be that for the others to realize he was human too. As a fairly good friend and also counselor to him, she knew most of his fears and hopes and, more importantly, she knew about what had happened at Talos IV.

"Don't you know it's impolite to stare at sleeping people?" he drawled tiredly.

Kat managed an innocent look and a smirk. "You weren't sleeping," she replied slyly.

"No," he whispered as he reached up with his hand to gently massage his forehead. "Is it time for the briefing?"

She shook her head and took some time to study him. "Culber and I postponed it for another few hours."

He frowned.

"I've seen the medical report, Chris," she added cryptically as she crossed her hands over her chest. "I know you're darn lucky to be here at all."

"So, what's on your mind?" he asked cunningly. "I know there is something."

Cornwell reached for a chair, pulled it up next to him and sat down with a sigh. "I saw her," was all she said.

"The way she used to look?" he wondered aloud as there was no mistake as of whom the admiral was referring too. "-or did she reveal her true form?"

"I saw a beautiful blonde woman who seemed caring, even loving," Kat admitted. "Then I saw the way they commanded her. How they spoke through her, using her as a channel for information. They wanted Agent Tyler for themselves; wanted to dig deep into his mind."

Pike smirked, looking uncomfortable for a moment. "Once you're there you can't tell what is an illusion and what is real," he stated in a subdued voice. "Vina seem to be a wonderful person but the Talosians have a different agenda."

Kat looked away at the raw sincerity in his voice.

"But you knew that already," he added somberly. "So, I am curious; what made you take _Discovery _there?"

She shook her head as she turned to look at him again. "I didn't; Saru did."

Pike's eyebrows shot up in his hairline at the revelation. "Saru?" he asked in surprise.

"For some reason he thought that would be the least likely place for the AI to look for us. Given what he knew about Talos IV, he reasoned that whatever's happened in the past, it was safe," she informed.

"For goodness sake, Kat-," Chris protested, "-there is a death penalty in place – General Order Seven."

"General Order Seven," she echoed darkly. "I was skeptical at first but now I know it's there for all the right reasons."

"Scuttlebutt has it they created a black hole," Pike mused.

Cornwell smirked. "Scuttlebutt, huh?" she teased. "Didn't know you listened to such things."

"Lieutenant Detmer was pretty riled up," he let on seriously.

"It was real yet it wasn't," the admiral reasoned. "An illusion isn't supposed to trigger a response from the ship, it isn't real. They are masterminds; manipulating even the fabric of space."

"I can still wake up at night sometimes and wonder if I am still there; if all of this is just an illusion," he stated.

Kat gently reached out to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I can assure you, Chris, this is real," she promised and leveled her eyes with his, holding his eyes until he nodded. "As for Saru's disobedience and Burnham's, since she took Spock there. I'll think of a suitable punishment later – when all this is over."

The door to sickbay whooshed open to reveal Saru, Spock, Burnham, Tilly, Stamets, Reno, Nhan, Pollard, Bryce, Owo and Tyler while Culber emerged from his office.

Chris sat up a little straighter in his bed, appearing like nothing had happened, except everyone already knew that the look was deceiving.

"Captain, it's good to see that you're doing better," Michael said softly with a smile.

"I am glad you all made it back," he said sincerely as he glanced around the room. "And I am glad that those still onboard managed to help us out."

"Okay," Culber began seriously. "Before we start this meeting, I just want to say this; no lengthy discussions, keep it brief and don't tire the captain out."

Chris bit back a snarky reply that he wasn't a child and that he knew his limitations. It would be unfair to the doctor. He knew that Hugh was only acting in his best interest and that the doctor was only trying to do his job.

"You should all be aware that by spreading the virus, from the central node at _Beta Astra_ to Section 31's network, we've now managed to create glitches throughout the system," Spock reported as he called up an image on the main screen next to his captain's bed. "Those will be repaired of course but the damages were quite extensive and will keep the AI busy for a while."

Tyler nodded. "I've managed to keep track of two of the ships from Section 31 that appeared at _Beta Astra_ but it has been difficult. The network does not respond to certain commands. However, it appears that our _Leland disguised_ father figure of the AI is having problems with establishing connections to his armada at the moment."

"That is good news," Cornwell added. "We also know that the machine is sensitive to EMP. That can prove useful in the long run. However, manufacturing that kind of sophisticated non-nuclear EMP devices, such as the one at _Beta Astra,_ is costly and time-consuming. We will not be able to take advantage of it the way we'd hoped."

"We have learned to convert our transporters to an efficient weapon if the AI manage to board us but to do so will require a complete reboot of the system," Stamets added.

"So, now that we've achieved what we set out to do; stall the AI. I think everyone here is most curious to know what really took place at _Beta Astra_," the admiral said.

Tilly quickly walked over to the terminal and tapped in a few commands so that the screen lit up with the logs from the chief scientist stationed at the research facility called _Beta Astra_. "May I introduce you to Professor Tina Tienés, chief scientist and overseer of the experiments that took place over there," the ensign said brightly.

"Ensign Tilly and I have been going through everything we could find about Professor Tienés, her mission and her colleagues, their connection to Section 31 and their research fields," Burnham filled in.

"With the help of Agent Tyler," Tilly added.

Culber stiffened at the mention of the name. "Professor Tienés was working as a doctor at Starbase 11. She was specialized in biological and mechanical phasing. She oversaw a lot of augmented implementations at the hospital, especially at the beginning of the war. It was told that the damages done to humans which she'd seen through her carrier made her even more convinced a merging between a human and a machine would benefit everyone," he explained. "I saw her a few times in the corridors while I was working there."

"Then you are also aware the she died in a battle close to the neutral zone a few days before the war ended," Spock pointed out.

The doctor nodded. "Yes," he confirmed.

OOOOOO

_To be continued_


	21. Beta Astra pt1

**Chapter Twenty-One**

_Beta Astra_

"Tienés' body was never found," Tyler added darkly. "That is because she didn't die. She was offered a position as a lead scientist at _Beta Astra;_ on terms dictated at Section 31's headquarters. She got the tools and the funding to complete what she'd always wanted – to create a human/machine."

"She would never had agreed to it if she had known Section 31's real intentions," Culber protested. "I know enough about her to realize that she wanted to help people, not kill them, nor would she had wanted to impose on them a mechanic consciousness."

Spock raised an impeccable eyebrow. "Perhaps not, Doctor Culber, but by the time Professor Tienés realized that her motives and Section 31's weren't the same; it would have been too late for her to do something about it," he said.

Saru shook his head sadly.

"But she wasn't there?" Hugh reasoned quizzically. "I never saw her. I saw bodies, sure, but hers wasn't one of them."

"I am getting to that," Tilly said. "But first - the man I stumbled over after the captain and I got locked up into that laboratory – his name is, I mean was, Doctor Joseph McRoach."

"Good Lord," Reno spoke up. "McRoach."

"Who?" Burnham asked.

"Joseph McRoach was considered to be a computer genius," Pike explained as he glanced around the room. His eyes lingered on Tyler for a moment, as if waiting for his reaction to something. "He was in charge of the infamous conversion of the NCC-3610 to a ghost ship."

Tilly shuddered at the word ghost.

"Wait a minute," Stamets argued. "NCC-3610 has never existed. No ship has ever carried that designation."

"Not officially," Tyler admitted, somewhat enigmatically, as he eyed the captain curiously, wondering how much he knew about that.

"Gentlemen," Cornwell cautioned steely. "I don't have to remind you that any information about NCC-3610 is classified."

"Admiral, humor us," Tilly suggested hopefully. "At least enough so that we understand the concept."

Cornwell sighed and glanced around the room before she finally nodded. "Very well. She was going to be the first stealth ship ever built by the Federation; that is - the first stealth ship capable of ferrying passengers without a crew. Similar to those first experiments with algorithms driving vehicles on the streets of Earth."

"That sounds a bit preposterous," Saru stated. "I was to understand that such a system is very vulnerable to outside interference. Didn't a terrorist cell stage an attack upon one of the largest aircrafts operating on Earth a few years before Emory Ericksen invented the means of transportation through teleportation?"

"Yes," Owo replied. "It worked to statute an example of technology as something evil and unnecessary to the Luddite collective."

Reno shook her head in exasperation. "Technology in itself cannot be evil. It needs the help of humans to become that," she reasoned.

Cornwell nodded at Saru. "The incident at Innsbruck, as it came to be called, took the lives of over three thousand people," she confirmed.

"Anyway-," Reno began, "-McRoach was fired from Starfleet Tech wasn't he? He wrote a command into the main computer of one of the larger ship's in the fleet that rendered any assistance from mankind impossible."

"That is the official version," Pike admitted.

"The_ Enterprise_?" Tilly asked curiously.

Captain Pike shook his head.

Kat glanced around the room; her features grim. "McRoach didn't take into consideration that by rendering human assistance to a computer system impossible, he sealed the fate of sixty-five crewmen. The poor souls worked as a skeleton crew, on their way to space dock to lay up the badly damaged ship. The report is incomplete and officially non-existent," Cornwell cautioned.

The present crewmembers of _Discovery_ nodded at her discreet warning not to talk about anything she said.

"Sometimes the human eye and sensitivity can be able to detect things algorithms can't. Sometimes thinking outside the box can save lives. Unfortunately, McRoach argued that instead of aiding humans with a computerized system, which the officers only took time to learn the basics of anyway, the advanced technology should be allowed to make decisions based on its assessment of the situation. The crew was onboard to oversee things; to analyze and to assess," Cornwell explained.

Pike pursed his lips into a thin line of displeasure as he continued where she'd left off. "The NCC – 3610 came across a minefield during its test run and could not anticipate the next move. It was able to calculate a way out but due to a series of malfunctioning equipment, the ship finally crash-landed in the neutral zone," he said.

"Severely damaged, the NCC – 3610 decided to initiate the self-destruct, thereby effectively killing the lives of everyone onboard. The ship could have been saved if the system had allowed the human crew to take action," Tyler added. "McRoach claimed he hadn't been able to foresee such a thing and refused to be charged for murder. Section 31 decided he could be useful and was willing to give him a second chance."

"So, he ended up on _Beta Astra_ to help develop the machine/man concept," Nhan mused. "Interesting, considering that he believed technology to be capable of doing anything for the human without its presence."

"I am sure they had their disagreements," Cornwell drawled.

"So, we have a computer genius to develop the algorithms and perfect the program," Pollard reasoned. "And we have a professor in augmentation of battle scared humans."

"Then I'll ask what's on everybody's mind at the moment," Saru said. "Who was the third scientist?"

"Section 31 knew, having learned from past experiments, that no plan is failproof," Spock spoke up. "How can you prevent a possible disaster should this experiment go wrong?"

"You hire an expert in electrochemical physics," Burnham added as she tapped away at the console and brought up a picture of a slender man in his early forties.

"Nicola Gimble," Pike said sadly as he recognized the man.

Reno huffed. "Doctor Gimble," she voiced. "He's got a PhD in electrochemical physics."

"Forgive me," Doctor Pollard said, "What would a doctor in electrochemical physics provide during this type of experiment?"

"He would have tried to prevent a disaster," Tyler replied cryptically.

"Are you familiar with the work of Michael Faraday, doctor?" Saru asked curiously.

"Michael Faraday was a human scientist who, in 1836, built what we call the Faraday cage," Reno explained.

"But it was Benjamin Franklin who actually discovered it in 1755," Tilly protested. "I mean; what it does."

Reno shrugged and continued. "Nicola Gimble no doubt tried to perfect that set up at _Beta Astra_. You see, the Faraday cage works as shield that can be used to prevent people and sensitive equipment from being exposed to electrical currents."

"You cannot build a space station and have it act like a Faraday cage," Spock pointed out. "That would mean that no signal can penetrate the hull. Furthermore, the technique is crude and can't be applied in space because the universe itself does not generate that type of electricity. The Vulcan Science Directory has done a lot of research about this type of theories in order to protect our exploration vessels. As you all know, we use deflector shields."

"Okay," Cornwell said. "We agreed not to have a lengthy discussion. Let's save the scientific theories for another time."

Tilly looked Culber sadly. "You said you didn't see Doctor Tienés body. That is because she was in what they called the 'red zone' when the EMP flooded half of the station."

"Let me guess," Reno said sarcastically. "That means she was in a section close to the control room and therefore out of reach for the electromagnetic pulse?"

"Yes, and out of fear, after seeing what happened to the agent when the AI had merged with him, McRoach didn't dare to let her back inside the 'green zone'," Tilly said and pushed a few buttons to access a recording.

"_Beta Astra, mission log, backup copy, personal reflections, Doctor Tienés._

_I am scared. I have never been this scared in my entire life. I am saving this in the EMP-shielded backup system only; where the AI can't get to it and manipulate or erase my entries." _

Culber and Pollard shared a solemn look.

"_I was contacted by Captain Finnman through regular channels. He said he had something that might interest me; said he knew someone who might help me fund my research. I was overjoyed because the medical research concerning augmentation and exoskeletal help to humans who's suffered injuries have been almost non-existent compared to other fields of expertise,"_ she explained.

There was a pause, the computer did record, only, Doctor Tienés didn't say anything. The occupants in sickbay looked at each other curiously as Tilly made to jump forward but as her finger was poised over the button ready for the push the Doctor began to speak again.

"_I have seen a lot of battle injuries in my days, they seldom scare me, and I have seen human flesh merge with augmentation. I have even seen porcelain orbs tracking me, enhancing human vision for better or for worse, when the original eye has been severely damaged or beyond salvation all together. I have seen through that, seen the beautiful human behind all that. Like I said; it doesn't bother me, but to see a conscious machine staring back at me through human eyes is damn right frightening,"_ she said.

"_Nicola, Joe and I have been here for months now, perfecting things, making sure everything works. The more we have seen, the more we've talked about it, the more we realize that the world is not ready for this. There are so many things that could go wrong." _

Tilly paused the recording. "There are more entries about ethical dilemmas, how it is going to work and so on but I am going to break it down to the most vital parts," she explained.

"_Beta Astra, mission log, backup copy, personal reflections, Doctor Tienés._

"_Day zero is finally here – I hope it's not a bad thing. Special agent Cox arrived earlier with the small supply ship. He's here as volunteer and will act as a specimen for the final task at hand. He knows only the basics as we want to test how much the AI learns from its host. He does not know about Nicola's work with the non-nuclear EMP machine. He does not know that it has the capacity to render the nanobot technology harmless, nor does he know about Joe's case studies in the artificial intelligence field. No one knows exactly how this is going to work, what is going to happen between the human consciousness and the AI. Everyone hopes that they can coexist but Joe says that the AI has the capacity to learn, process and relearn things over time should anything happen to the human." _

Tyler held up his hand and nodded at Tilly who put Doctor Tienés on hold. "Joseph McRoach," he said seriously. "He was directly involved with the development of the threat assessment program you named 'control', wasn't he?"

Cornwell pursed her lips into a thin line of displeasure but gave a curt nod, confirming his theory. "Doctor McRoach wrote the basic code to that program," she confirmed.

Tyler nodded at Tilly to resume playing the log.

OOOOOO

_To be continued_


	22. Beta Astra pt2

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

_Beta Astra pt 2_

The ensign nodded but her hand hovered over the console; she made no move to resume the log. "Actually, that's all we've got from the professor while she was – in her right mind - so to speak."

"Explain," Cornwell said.

"Huh-," Tilly began and took a deep breath, just about to launch into one of her rapid explanations.

Michael spoke up instead. "We've went over everything twice and, even then, some parts of it was sketchy at beast," she said as she glanced around the room. "There are materials, personal records and mission files able to shed some light over it but basically –"

"Since it was McRoach whom Tilly stumbled upon in the lab, " Pike began as he turned to Burnham. "I guess that when the AI and Special Agent Cox joined forces, McRoach realized that the AI was a fast learner; faster than he'd originally intended for it to be."

"Your assumption appears to be correct, captain," Spock concurred. "It is logical that the AI, in order to preserve itself and develop, would eventually see its creator as a threat."

"Is it?" Reno questioned curiously. "I mean, McRoach made sure it had the ability to develop in the first place."

"Section 31 wanted to perfect the threat assessment program," Tyler broke in. "Having evaluated it for some time and found it to be functioning adequately, they wanted to incorporate it into agents amongst the ranks. That way the AI/program could easily assess the situation directly and therefore eliminate, or at least reduce the amount of problems."

"Anyway," Tilly said, her voice a little rushed as she was eager to get on with the explanation. "The merging between human and machine was a success. They went to celebrate later on - well - they went to the mess hall that is. As time went by, Agent Cox spent his time searching the database, studying reports that had been logged and registered at Starfleet Command. Given the clearance the AI had been given I assume that it could study everything in the archives – even the _Enterprise's_ most secret reports."

"No," Cornwell disagreed. "While Admiral Patar was impressed by the threat assessment program, it was decided not to give it access to archived reports in which no threat was perceived or to those where the threat had been eliminated."

"Forgive me, admiral," Tyler spoke up, his hands crossed over his chest. "I know there are reports in that archive that deals with a lot of sensitive information that could lead to future threatening situations."

"Why don't you just say it out loud, Tyler?" she replied. "You want to know if the AI had access to Captain Pike's reports on Talos IV – well – the answer is no."

"If I am to understand this correctly, the threat assessment program was constructed in order to help plan strategic missions throughout the Federation," Spock reasoned. "It was meant to reduce or even eliminate threats due to badly constructed mission planning."

"That is correct," Cornwell answered. "It would also work as a means to keep tabs on the Klingons and their possible allies in sectors near the Neutral Zone."

"And it was to be conferred with at tribunals," Pike explained as he watched the admiral somewhat coldly. "Apparently, Starfleet Command thought it easier to rely on a machine than to judge entirely by themselves."

Kat and Chris stared coldly at each other for a moment, despite their usual friendly manner, knowing things about the program no one else in the room did.

"It was to aid the decision making," she reasoned, hands on her hips. "It would not have the final vote whether a captain or commanding officer should be sentenced for anything."

Pike barely managed to hide a wince as he shifted in bed.

Doctor Culber discreetly watched the numbers and figures on the screen above the captain's head, he didn't like what he was seeing. "No lengthy discussions, remember?" he said seriously as he glanced around the room before his eyes settled on Cornwell, who was the highest-ranking officer present.

The Admiral nodded.

"Okay, back to _Beta Astra_ people," Tilly spoke up jovially. "McRoach, Tienés and Gimble, after realizing the AI had become something more, something uncontainable, tried to lock it out and called for help."

"The AI deduced, after having hacked specific areas of the computer core, that Gimble's coil was not built to test shield harmonics or to study fluctuations and stress to hull integrity of _Beta Astra_ but put together as a last resort to prevent the AI from escaping its confinement at the station," Michael explained.

"Chaos ensued," Tilly spoke up sadly. The AI walked into the lab areas and tried to sabotage the coil. McRoach tried to talk it out of it. When he didn't succeed, he pulled a gun on his creation. Unfortunately, Special Agent Cox was a weapons expert and killed McRoach with a single shot."

"Nicola Gimble activated the coil, cranked up the power to maximum, emptied a magazine of projectiles into the agent and fled head over heels from the room," Tyler added.

"My father always said technology was a bad thing, sprung from evil," Owo spoke up in a subdued voice. "I never believed him."

"This isn't about technology," Reno argued. "This is about an experiment gone horribly wrong."

"So, you put the lid on?" Culber said accusingly as he turned to the admiral.

Kat shook her head. "I didn't know. Like I told you earlier, before we got here, Section 31 claimed they'd abandoned _Beta Astra_. Starfleet Command was overjoyed to know Section 31 had finally come to their senses and stopped their biological warfare experiments."

"More like artificial warfare experiments," Reno muttered sourly.

"Admiral Patar assured us that everything was in order and we gave them the benefit of a doubt," Cornwell added.

"That doesn't explain how we could be affected and why we never found Professor Tienés," Pike said.

"The professor was running simulations in the control room when Gimble activated the coil," Burnham explained. "She instantly realized something was wrong when she couldn't raise her colleagues on the intercom. The AI program was still up and running so even if Gimble had managed to shut down the human/machine hybrid the intelligence was still alive."

"There is more to it," Tyler explained. "Tina Tienés had another task to perform, one she wasn't allowed to speak to anyone about – not even McRoach and Gimble. We only know because she explained in one of her encrypted log entries. She was to slowly infect the team with nanobots using the ventilation system. Section 31 was interested in how much time it would take for the nanobots to find hosts, and when they'd found them; how long it would take to break the barriers of the human body."

Pike shuddered at that, this time it had nothing to do with his fever.

"Let me guess," Reno said cunningly as she slowly began to pace the room. "Nicola Gimble never got out of the protected zone so the only one the nanobots managed to infect was Professor Tienés herself."

"And because of the nature of her mission she knew that no one would come to their rescue," Burnham added darkly. "She made several entries after being infected – in her case, the transformation was a lengthy process, sometimes she had memory elapses, sometimes she saw in the computer logs what she'd been doing unknowingly."

Tilly swallowed as she pushed a button to play one last entry.

"_Beta Astra, mission log, backup copy, personal reflections, Professor Tienés._

"_I have done things I have no recollection of. I have become no more than a brick in a dangerous game. For every hour that passes now I lose a part of myself. I have been trying to stay human but the AI won't let me. I have disengaged this log from the main computer system, there is no direct link to this, therefore the system itself cannot erase it. I am afraid that – in my zooned-out moments – I will do it myself. I have been pondering this for a long time now and I know there is only one solution to this problem. This will be my last entry." _

The mood plummeted in the room as they all understood what she was about to do. The next entry log confirmed it.

"_Beta Astra, mission log, backup copy, personal reflections, Nicola Gimble._

_I've never trusted anyone but I've always wanted to. The irony in all this is that I trusted Section 31, a part of the Starfleet organization that never should be trusted. I have a feeling they won't come to get me. I don't know why but-" _he trailed off and sighed._ "Agent Cox is dead, the AI is lurking somewhere on the station, Joe – I mean McRoach – is dead. I had hoped that Professor Tienés would be able to come back but I realize now that I am alone here. I see her body outside my window, floating in space." _

There was a stunned silence in sickbay for a moment. All of them shocked by the revelation.

"The past doesn't matter anymore," Spock spoke up after a while. "It is the present that leads to the future."

"At the present we have a renegade AI on our tail," Reno offered.

"The events at _Beta Astra_ are tragic at best," Pike spoke up. "Even if we managed to scatter the forces, break the communication link between the ships it-,"

"-it will not keep it away forever," Spock filled in evenly.

Michael shook her head sadly. "No, it will return for the data when it has gathered its forces. There is only a matter of time before that happens," she said.

"There must be something we have overlooked," Pike mused as he gingerly shifted in his biobed. "There has to be a way to stop it."

"As far-fetched as it may sound at the moment, captain, the travels of the 'red angel' suggest that it has been able to turn the tables, so to speak, in our favor."

Reno shuddered. "If this madness is supposed to be in our favor, then I don't want to know what would have happened otherwise," she quipped.

"If you mother isn't the 'red angel', or at least not the one who've sent the signals-," Tilly began curiously. "– then, who is it? Where is it and where do we go next?" she asked.

"I am afraid I'll have to leave it up to you to figure it out," Cornwell spoke up seriously as she turned to the officers before, one at a time. "I hate to suggest such a thing but you have to stay as far away as possible from the AI. Knowing all of you, I trust you can do it."

"We run and we wait," Pike summarized darkly. "So far we've only seen three of the seven

signals."

"I hope the fourth appears sooner rather than later," Reno said.

"We will-," Pike began but was kindly interrupted by the good doctor.

"_They_ will," Culber corrected softly yet there was no room for arguments in his tone of voice. "_You_ are confined to sickbay until further notice."

A smirk appeared on Cornwell's lips as she looked from Culber to Pike and then back again. "Good luck with that, doctor," she stated somewhat enigmatically.

OOOOOO

The end

_/Insert the episode "Through the Valley of Shadows" after this. It is in that episode that Spock realizes that the AI is sensitive to magnetism and Michael finds out that the AI has evolved and is now capable of taking over more people than Leland. _


End file.
